,^f^- 




INCIDENT IN CAKIOLE TKAVELLTNG. 



HUDSON'S BAY: 

OR EVERY-DAY LIFE 

IN THE WILDS OF NORTH AMERICA, 



DURING SIX YEARS' RESIDENCE IN THE TERRITORIES 
OF THE HON. HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY. 



ROBERT MICHAEL BALLANTYNE, 
u 

AUTHOR OF " THE YOUNG FUR-TKADERS." 



BOSTON: 
PHILLIPS, SAMPSON AND COMPANY 

1859. 






RIVERSIDE, CAMBRIDGE: 
PRINTED BY H. 0. HOUGHTON AND COMPANY. 



GIFT 

DANIEL U0*^ 
A.UG. 1S6^ 



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PREFACE 



TN publishing the present work, the Author rests 
^ his hopes of its favorable reception chiefly upon 
the fact that its subject is comparatively new. 
Although touched upon by other writers in 
narratives of Arctic discovery, and in works of 
general information, the very nature of those 
publications prohibited a lengthened or minute 
description of that every-day life, whose de- 
lineation is the chief aim of the following 
pages. 

J The illustrative wood-cuts scattered throughout 
ithe volume are from drawings made on the spot 
,^bythe Author. He originally intended giving 
views of eight or ten forts and establishments of 
the Hudson's Bay^Company, but has thought it 
better to reduce the number of these, and substi- 
tute, for the remainder, representations of scenes 
and objects which pages of letter-press would 
olten fail in placing correctly before the reader. 



CONTENTS. 



Page 
Preface, v 

CHAPTER I. 

Preliminary observations — Appointment to the service of the 
Hudson's Bay Company — Gravesend — The Hudson's Bay ships — The 
dinner— Set sail for Stornoway, 1 

CHAPTER 11. 

Stornoway — The ball — Departure for Hudson's Bay — The sea — 
Meet with ice — Icebergs — Go out to tea on the Atlantic — Hudson's 
Straits — Hudson's Bay — Arrival at York Factory, . . 13 

CHAPTER m. 

The Hudson's Bay Company — Peculiarities of the service — The far 
trade. &c. — List of forts and establishments belonging to the Com- 
pany, 33 

CHAPTER IV. 

North American Indians — The different tribes, costumes, &c. — 
Manners and customs— ^Modes of life— Cannibalism— Trapping wild 
animals, 45 

CHAPTER V. 

Voyage to Red River Settlement— Boat travelling in the interior— 
Pemmican— Duck shooting— Scenery— Oxford House— Lakes— Nor- 
way House — Winnipeg, 69 

CHAPTER VL 
Red River— First settlement— Climate— Skirmish between the two 
Fur Companies— Death of Governor Semple— Red River flood— The 
"•prairies— My horse " Taureau"— Partridge shooting— Death of the 



vi CONTENTS. 

Arctic discoverer, Thomas Simpson, Esq. — The Half-breeds— Anec- 
dotes of the Opposition times, 86 

CHAPTER Vn. 

Arrival at Norway House — The Indian village-*The clerk's house — 
Mr. Cumming's adventure with a black bear— The Indian feast- 
Spring — How to catch a young buffalo alive — Amusements — Depar- 
ture for York Factory in a light canoe, 104 

CHAP TEE VHI. 

York Factory— The climate— Extreme cold in winter— Animals- 
Game, fish — Bachelor's Hall — Winter — Ptarmigan or white partridge 
shooting — Sudden changes in the weathei' — Christmas and New Year's 
doings — Disruption of the ice in spring — Shooting excursion in the 
marshes, 126 

CHAPTER IX. 

Receive orders to prepare for a long journey — Arrangements for 
the voyage— Leave York Factory in a small Indian canoe— Canoe 
gets broken — First encampment — Scenery — Mosquitos — Portages 
and rapids — Dexterity of the Indians among rapids — Meet Bri- 
gades—Running rapids — Narrow escape— Meet north canoes— Lakes— 
Thunderstorm— Gulls' eggs— Oxford House— Arrival at Norway 
House, 166 

CHAPTER X. 

Continuation of the voyage in a large canoe through the interior, by 
the Great Lakes, to Canada— Our light canoe— The first day— Delay 
in Lake Winnipeg — See a bear — The guide's tale— Get some berries 
from Indians— Pass Fort Alexander— Portages commence— Scenery- 
See another bear— Plums— Get fresh provisions from Indians— Meet 
Dr. Rae, the Arctic discoverer— Pass Eat Portage and Fort Frances- 
Meet a party of Indians— Disagreeable walk— Bad travelling— Long 
portages— Height of land— Dangers among the rapids— Narrow escape 
—The Kakabecka Falls— One of our men lost— Find him again, and 
arrive at Fort William — Lake Superior — Nearly swamped in a gale — 
Detention— Forget our fresh provisions— Pass the Pic— Pass Michipi- 
coton— Provisions exhausted— Arrive at Sault de Ste. Marie— Leave 
the Sault and cross Lakes Huron and Nipisingue — Pass a shanty — 
Commencement of citilization— The village of Ay Imar— By town- 
Lake of Two Mountains— Arrival at Lachine, . . . 196 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XI. 

Winter travelling in Canada — Departure from Lachine — Sleigh 
travelling — Cahoes — Scenery along the road — Ludicrous accident — 
Three Rivers — Quebec — Travelling below Quebec — Outskirts of civil- 
ization — Walk through the forest — Arrival at Tadousac — The Gulf 
of St. Lawrence— Mr. Brown's adventures with Indians — Seal-hunt- 
ing, 244 

CHAPTER XIL 

A snow-shoe journey — Boating in winter — Miseries of a thaw — 
Esquimain River — Start in company with one man — Our costumes — 
Sleeping in the snow — Reach Port Neuf— Detention — Attempt to pro- 
ceed in a small boat — Stopped by ice — Resume our snow-shoes — Ar- 
rive at Isle Jeremie — Wrecks on the Gulf of St. Lawrence — Frost- 
bitten sailors — Start for Seven Islands — Pass Goodbout — Continue the 
voyage Avith Indians — Seven Islands — Salmon fisheries — Seal shooting 
—The Trapper— Anecdotes— Solitude— Relief— Departure for Tadou- 
sac — The last voyage — Conclusion, 262 



HUDSON'S BAY. 

CHAPTER I. 

APPOINTMENT TO THE SERTICE OF THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY. 

READER, — I take for gi'anted that you are tolerably 
well acquainted ^vith the different modes of life and 
travelling peculiar to European nations. I also presume 
that you know something of the inhabitants of the East ; 
and, it may be, a good deal of the Americans in general. 
But I suspect, at least I would fain hope, that you have 
only a vague and indefinite knowledge of life in those 
wild, uncivilized regions of the northern continent of 
America that surround the shores of Hudson's Bay. I 
would fain hope this, I say, that I may have the satisfac- 
tion of giving you information on the subject, and of 
showing you that there is a body of civilized men who 
move, and breathe, (pretty cool air, by the way !) and 
spend their lives in a quarter of the globe as totally 
different, in most respects, from the part you inhabit, as 
a beaver, roaming among the ponds and marshes of his 
native home, is from that sagacious animal when con- 
verted into a fashionable hat. 

About the middle of May eighteen hundred and forty- 
one, I was thrown into a state of ecstatic joy by the ar- 
1 



2 HUDSON'S BAY. 

rival of a letter appointing me to the enviable situation 
of apprentice clerk in the service of the Honorable 
Hudson's Bay Company. To describe the immense 
extent to which I expanded, both mentally and bodily, 
upon the receipt of this letter, is impossible ; it is suf- 
ficient to know, that from that moment I fancied myself 
a complete man-of-business, and treated my old com- 
panions with the condescending suavity of one who knows 
that he is talking to his inferiors. 

A few days after, however, my pride was brought very 
Jow indeed, as I lay tossing about in my berth on the 
.tumbling waves of the German Ocean, eschewing break- 
fast as a dangerous meal, and looking upon dinner with 
£i species of horror utterly incomprehensible by those 
who have not experienced an attack of sea-sickness. 
Miseries of this description, fortunately, do not last long. 
In a couple of days we got into the comparatively still 
water of the Thames ; and I, with a host of pale-faced 
young ladies, and cadaverous-looking young gentlemen, 
emerged for the first time from the interior of the ship, 
to behold the beauties and wonders of the Great Metrop- 
olis, as we glided slowly up the crowded river. 

Leave-taking is a disagreeable subject either to reflect 
upon or to write about, so we will skip that part of the 
business and proceed at once to Gravesend, where I 
stood (having parted from all my friends) on the deck of 
the good ship Prince Rupert, contemplating the boats 
and crowds of shipping that passed continually before 
me and thinking how soon I was to leave the scenes to 
which I had been so long accustomed, for a far distant 
land. I was a boy, however ; and this, I think, is equiv- 
alent to saying that I did not sorrow long. My future 
companion and fellow-clerk, Mr. Wiseacre, was pacing 



HUDSON'S BAY. 3 

the deck near me. This turned my thoughts into an- 
other channel, and set me speculating upon his probable 
temper, qualities, and age ; whether or not he was 
strong enough to thrash me, and if we were likely to be 
good friends. The captain, too, was chatting and laugh- 
ing with the doctor, as carelessly as if he had not the 
great responsibility of taking a huge ship across a bound- 
less waste of waters, and through fields and islands of 
ice, to a distant country some three thousand miles to 
the northwest of England. Thus encouraged, my spirits 
began to rise, and, when the cry arose on deck that the 
steamer containing the committee of the Honorable 
Hudson's Bay Company was in sight, I sprang up the 
companion-ladder in a state of mind, if not happy, at 
least as nearly so as under the circumstances could be 
expected. 

Upon gaining the deck, I beheld a small steamboat 
passing close under our stern, filled with a number of 
elderly-looking gentlemen, who eyed us with a very crit- 
ical expression of countenance. I had a pretty good 
guess w^ho these gentlemen w'ere ; but had I been en- 
tirely ignorant, I should soon have been enlightened by 
the remark of a sailor, who whispered to his comrade, 
" I say, Bill, them's the great guns ! " 

I suppose the fact of their being so had a sympathetic 
effect upon the guns of the Company's three ships, the 
Prince Rupert, Prince Albert, and Prince of V/ales, for 
they all three fired a salute of blank cartridge at the 
steamer as she passed them in succession. The steamer 
then ranged alongside of us, and the elderly gentlemen 
came on board and shook hands with the captain and 
officers, smiling blandly as they observed the neat, trim 
appearance of the three fine vessels, which, with every- 



4 HUDSON'S BAY. 

thing in readiness for setting sail on the following morn- 
ino", strained at their cables, as if anxious to commence 
their struggle with the waves. 

It is a custom of the directors of the Hudson's Bay 
Company to give a public dinner annually to the officers 
of their ships upon the eve of their departure from 
Gravesend. Accordingly, one of the gentlemen of the 
committee, before leaving the vessel, invited the captain 
and officers to attend, and, to my astonishment and de- 
li o-ht, also begged me, to honor them with my company. 
I accepted the invitation with extreme politeness ; and, 
from inability to express my joy in any other way, 
winked to my friend Wiseacre, with whom I had be- 
come, by this time, pretty familiar. He, being also in- 
vited, winked in return to me ; and, having disposed of 
this piece of juvenile freemasonry to our satisfaction, 
we assisted the crew in giving three hearty cheers, as 
the little steamer darted from the side and proceeded to 
the shore. 

The dinner, like all other public dinners, was as good 
and substantial as a lavish expenditure of cash could 
make it ; but really my recollections of it are very in- 
distinct. The ceaseless din of plates, glasses, knives, 
forks, and tongues, was tremendous ; and this, together 
with the novelty of the scene, the heat of the room, and 
excellence of the viands, tended to render me oblivious 
of much that took place. Almost all the faces present 
were strange to me. Who were, and who were not, 
the gentlemen of the committee, was to me matter of the 
most perfect indifference ; and as no one took the trouble 
to address me in particular, I confined myself to the in- 
teresting occupation of trying to make sense of a conver- 
sation held by upwards of fifty pairs of lungs, at one and 



HUDSON'S BAY. 5 

the same time. Nothing intelligible, however, was to be 
heard, except when a sudden lull in the noise gave a 
bald-headed old gentleman, near the head of the table, 
an opportunity of drinking the health of a red-faced old 
gentleman near the foot, upon whom he bestowed an 
amount of flattery perfectly bewildering ; and after mak- 
mg the unfortunate red-faced gentleman writhe for half 
an hour in a fever of modesty, sat down amid thunders 
of applause. Whether the applause, by the way, was 
intended for the speaker, or the si^eahee, I do not know ; 
but being quite indifferent, I clapped my hands with the 
rest. The red-faced gentleman, now purple with excite- 
ment, then rose, and during a solemn silence delivered 
himself of a speech, to the effect, that the day then pass- 
ing was certainly the happiest in his mortal career, that 
he could not find words adequately to express the varied 
feelings which swelled his throbbing bosom, and that 
he felt quite faint with the mighty load of honor just 
thrown upon his dehghted shoulders by his bald-headed 
friend. The red-faced gentleman then sat down to the 
national air of Rat-tat-tat, played in full chorus, with 
knives, forks, spoons, nutcrackers, and knuckles, on the 
polished surface of the mahogany table. 

We left the dinner-table at a late hour, and after I, 
in company with some other youngsters, had done as 
much mischief as we conveniently could without risk- 
ing our detention by the strong arm of the law, we 
went down to the beach and embarked in a boat with 
the captain for the ship. How the sailors ever found 
her in the impenetrable darkness Avhich prevailed all 
around, is a mystery to me to this day. Find her how- 
ever they did, and in half an hour I was in the land 
of Nod. 



6 HUDSON'S BAY. 

The sun was blazing high in the heavens next morn- 
ing when I awoke, and gazed around for a few moments 
to discover where I was ; but the rattling of ropes and 
blocks, the stamping of feet overhead, the shouts of gruff 
voices, and, above all, a certain strange and disagreeable 
motion in mj dormitory, soon enlightened me on that 
point. We were going rapidly down the Thames, with 
a fair breeze, and had actually set sail for the distant 
shores of Hudson's Bay. 

What took place during the next five or six days I 
know not. The demon of sea-sickness had completely 
prostrated my faculties, bodily and mental. Some faint 
recollections I have of stormy weather, horrible noises, 
and hurried dinners ; but the greater part of that period 
is a miserable blank in my memory. Towards the sixth 
day, however, the savory flavor of a splendid salmon- 
trout floated past my dried-up nostrils like "Afric's spicy 
gale," and caused my collapsed stomach to yearn with 
strong emotion. The ship, too, was going more quietly 
through the water, and a broad stream of sunshine shot 
through the small window of my berth, penetrated my 
breast, and went down into the centre of my heart, fill- 
ing it with a calm, complacent pleasure, quite indescrib- 
able. Sounds, however, of an attack upon the trout 
roused me, and with a mighty effort I tumbled out of 
bed, donned my clothes, and seated myself for the first 
time at the cabin table. 

Our party consisted of the captain ; Mr. Carles, a chief 
factor in the Company's service ; the doctor ; young Mr. 
Wiseacre, aforementioned ; the first and second mates, 
and myself The captain was a thin, middle-sized, off- 
hand man, thoroughly acquainted with his profession; 
good-humored and gruff by turns ; and he always spoke 



HUDSON'S BAY. 7 

with the air of an oracle. Mr. Carles was a mild, good- 
natured man, of about fifty-five, with a smooth bald head, 
encircled by a growth of long thin hair. He was stoutly 
built, and possessed of that truly amiable and captivating 
disposition which enters earnestly and kindly into the 
affairs of others, and totally repudiates self. From early 
manhood he had roughed life in the very roughest and 
wildest scenes of the wilderness, and was now returning 
to those scenes after a short visit to his native land. 
The doctor was a nondescript ; a compound of gravity, 
fun, seriousness, and humbug — the latter predominating. 
He had been everywhere, (at least so he said.) had seen 
everything, knew everybody, and played the fiddle. It 
cannot be said, I fear, that he played it well ; but, amid 
the various vicissitudes of his checkered life, the doctor 
had frequently found himself in company where his 
vioHn was almost idolized and himself deified, especially 
when the place chanced to be the American backwoods, 
(where violins are scarce,) the auditors semi-barbarous 
Highlanders, and the music Scotch reels. Mr. 'Wiseacre 
was nothing I He never spoke except when compelled 
to do so : never read, and never cared for anything or 
anybody ; wore very long hair, which almost hid his face, 
owing to a habit which he had of holding his head al- 
ways down, and apparently lived but to eat, drink, and 
sleep. Sometimes, though very rai-ely, he became so far 
facetious as to indulge in a wink and a low giggle, but 
beyond this he seldom soared. The two mates were 
simply mates. Those who know the population of the 
sea will understand the description sufficiently. Those 
who don't, will never, I fear, be made to understand by 
description. They worked the ship, hove the log, chang- 
ed the watch, turned out and tumbled in vdth the callous 



8 HUDSON'S BAY. 

indifference and stern regularity of clockwork ; inhabited 
tarpaulin dreadnoughts and sou'-westers ; came down to 
meals with modest diffidence, and walked the deck with 
bantam-cock-like assurance. Nevertheless, they were 
warm-hearted fellows, both of them, although the heat 
didn't often come to the surface. The first mate was a 
broad^cotchmsin, in every sense of the term ; the second 
was a burly little Englishman. 

" How's the wind, Collins," said the captain, as the 
second mate sat down at the dinner-table, and brushed 
the spray from his face with the back of his brown hand. 

" Changed a point to the s'uthard o' sou'-west, sir," he 
answered, " and looks as if it would blow hard." 

" Humph," ejaculated the captain, while he proceeded 
to help the fish ; " I hope it'll only keep quiet till we get 
into blue water, and then it may blow like blazes for all 
I care. Take some trout, doctor ? It's the last you'll 
put your teeth through for six weeks to come, / know ; 
so make the most of it. I wish I were only through the 
Pentland Firth, and scudding under full sail for the ice 
— I do ; " and the captain looked fiercely at the com- 
pass which hung over his head, as if he had said some- 
thing worthy of being recorded in history, and began to 
eat. 

After a pause of five minutes or so, during which time 
Ihe knives and forks had been clattering pretty vigor- 
ously, and the trout had become a miserable skeleton, the 
captain resumed his discourse. "I tell you what it is 
now, gentlemen, if there's not going to be a change of 
some sort or other, I'm no sailor." 

"It does look very threatening," said Mr. Carles, 
peering through the stern window. " I don't much like 
the look of these clouds behind us. Look there, doctor," 



HUDSON'S BAY. 9 

he continued, pointing towards the window, "what do 
you think of that ? " 

" Nothing," replied the doctor through a mouthful of 
duff and potatoes ; " a squall, I fancy — wish it'd only 
wait till after dinner." 

" It never does," said the captain. " I've been to sea 
these fifteen years, and I always found that squalls came 
on at breakfast or dinner, like an unwelcome visitor. 
They've got a thorough contempt for tea — seem to know 
it's but swipes, and not worth pitching into one's lap — 
but dinner's sure to bring'em on, if they're in the neigh- 
borhood, and make'em bu'st their cheeks at you. Re- 
member once, when I was cruising in the Mediterranean, 

in Lord P 's yacht, we'd been stewing on deck under 

an awning the whole forenoon, scarce able to breathe, 
when the bell rang for dinner. Well, down we all 
tumbled, about ten ladies and fifteen gentlemen, or there- 
abouts, and seated ourselves round the table. There was 

no end of grub of every kind. Lord P was eccentric 

in that way, and was always at some new dodge or other 
in the way of cookery. At this time he had invented a 
new dumpling. Its jacket was much the same as usual 
— inch-thick duff — but its contents were beyond anything 
I ever saw, except the maw of an old shark. Well, just 
as the steward took off the cover, hiss-s went the wind 
overhead, and one of those confounded squalls, that come 
rattling down without a moment's warning in those parts, 
struck the ship, and gave her a heel over that sent the 
saltcellars chasing the tumblers like all-possessed ; and 
the great dumpling gave a heavy lurch to leeward, rolled 
fairly over on its beam ends, and began to course straight 
down the table quite sedate and quiet like. Several 
dives were made at it by the gentlemen as it passed, but 



10 HUDSON'S BAY. 

they all missed, and, finally, just as a youngster made a 
grab at it with both hands, that bid fair to be successful, 
another howl of the squall changed its course, and sent it 
like a cannon-shot straight into the face of the steward, 
where it split its sides and scattered its contents right 
and left. I don't know how it ended, for I bolted up the 
companion, and saw the squall splitting away to leeward, 
shrieking as it went, just as if it were rejoicing at the 
mischief it had done." 

The laugh which greeted the captain's anecdote had 
scarce subsided when the tough sides of the good Prince 
Rupert gave a gentle creak, and the angle at which the 
active steward perambulated the cabin became absurdly 
acute. 

Just then the doctor cast his eye up at the compass 
suspended above the captain's head. 

" Hallo ! " said he ; but before he could give utterance 
to the sentiments to whicli " hallo " was the preface, the 
hoarse voice of the first mate came rolling down the com- 
panion-hatch — "A squall, sir, scoorin' doon like mad — 
wund's veered richt roond to the nor'east." The captain 
and second mate sprang hastily to their feet and rushed 
upon deck, where the rest of us joined them as speedily 
as possible. 

On gaining the quarter-deck, the scene that presented 
itself was truly grand. Thick black clouds rolled heavily 
overhead, and cast a gloom upon the sea, which caused 
it to look like ink. Not a breath of wind swelled the 
sails, which the men w^ere actively engaged in taking in. 
Far away on our weather-quarter the clouds were thicker 
and darker, and, just where they met the sea, there was 
seen a bright streak of white, which rapidly grew broader 
and brighter, until we could perceive that it was the sea 



HUDSON'S BAY. 11 

lashed into a seething foam by the gale which was sweep- 
irg ove it. 

" Mind your helm ! " shouted the captain. 

"Ay, ay, sir ! " sang out the man at the wheel ; and 
in another moment the storm burst upon us with all its 
fury, laying the huge vessel over on its side, as if it had 
been a feather on the wave, and causing her to fly through 
the black water like a dolphin. In a few minutes the 
first violence of the squall passed away, and was suc- 
ceeded by a steady breeze, which bore us merrily along 
over the swelling billows. 

"A stiff one that," said the captain, turning to the 
doctor, who, with imperturbable nonchalance, was stand- 
ing near him, holding on to a stancheon with one hand, 
while the other reposed in his breeches pocket. 

" I hope it v/ill last," replied the doctor. " If it does, 
Ave'll not be long of reaching the blue water you long so 
much for." 

Young Wiseacre, who, during the squall had been 
clutching the weather-shrouds with the tenacity of a 
drowning man, opened his eyes very wide on hearing 
this, to him, insane wish, and said to me in an under- 
tone, " I say, do you think the doctor is quite right in 
his mind ? " 

" I have no doubt of it," rephed I. " Why do you 
ask ? " 

" Because I heard him say to the captain, he wished 
that this would last." 

" Is that all ? " said I, while a very vile spirit of vanity 
took possession of me, inducing me to speak in a ton-e 
which indicated a tranquillity of mind that I certainly 
did not enjoy. " Oh, this is nothing at all. I see you've 
never been on salt water before. Just wait a bit, old 



12 HUDSON'S BAY. 

fellow ! " And having given utterance to this somewhat 
dark and mysterious expression, I staggered across the 
deck, and amused myself in watching the thick volumes 
of spray that flew, at every plunge, from the sides of the 
bounding vessel. 

The doctor's wish was granted. The breeze continued 
steady and strong, carrying us through the Pentland 
Firth in grand style, and carrying us in a short time to 
the island of Lewis, where we hove-to for a pilot. After 
a little signalizing we obtained one, who steered our good 
ship in safety through the narrow entrance to the bay of 
Stornoway, into whose quiet waters we finally dropt our 
anchor. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 13 



CHAPTER 11. 

STORNOWAY— THE TOYAGE— THE ARRIYAL. 

THE harbor of Stornoway is surrounded by high hills, 
except at the entrance, where a passage, not more, I 
should think, than three hundred yards wide, admits ves- 
sels of any tonnage into its sheltering bosom. Storno- 
way, a pretty, modest-looking town, apparently pleased 
with its lot, and contented to be far away from the busy 
and bustling world, lies snugly at the bottom of the bay. 
Here we remained upwards of a week, engaging men for 
the wild Nor'west, and cultivating the acquaintance of the 
people, who were extremely kind and very hospitable. 
Occasionally, Wiseacre and I amused ourselves with fish- 
ing excursions to the middle of the bay in small boats, in 
which excursions we were usually accompanied by two 
or three very ragged little boys from the town. Our 
sport was generally good, and rendered extremely inter- 
esting by our uncertainty as to which of the monsters of 
the deep would first attack our hooks. Rock-codlings and 
flounders appeared the most voracious, and occasionally 
a skate or long-legged crab came struggling to the surface. 
Just before leaving this peaceful little spot, our captain 
gave a grand ball on board, to which were invited the elite 
of Stornoway. Great preparations were made for the occa- 
sion. The quarter-deck was well washed and scrubbed ; 
an awning was spread over it, which formed a capital 
ceiling; and representatives of almost every flag that 



14 HUD SOX'S BAY. 

waves formed the walls of the large and airy apartment. 
Oil lamps, placed upon the sky-lights, companion, and 
capstan, shed a mellow light upon the scene, the roman- 
tic effect of which was greatly heightened by a few flick- 
ering rays of the moon, which shot through various open- 
ings in the drapery, and disported playfully upon the 
deck. At an early and very unfashionable hour on the 
evening of the appointed night, the guests arrived in de- 
tachments ; and, while the gentlemen scrambled up the 
side of the vessel, the ladies, amid a good deal of blush- 
ing and hesitation, were hoisted on board in a chair. Tea 
was served on deck ; and, after half an hour's laughing 
and chatting, during which time our violin-player was 
endeavoring to coax his first string to the proper pitch 
without breaking, the ball opened with a Scotch reel. 

Every one knows what Scotch reels are, but every one 
does not know how the belles of the Western Isles can 
dance them. 

" Just look at that slip of thread-paper," said the doc- 
tor to the captain, pointing to a thin, flat young lady still 
in her teens ; " I've watched her from the first — she's 
been up at six successive rounds, flinging her shanks 
about worse than a teething baby, and she's up again for 
another, just as cool and serene as a night in the latter 
end of October. I wonder what she's made of." 

" Leather, p'r'aps, or gutta percha," suggested the cap- 
tain, who had himself been " flinging his legs " about 
pretty violently during the previous half hour ; '' I wish 
that she had been my partner instead of the heavy fair 
one that you see over there leaning against the mizzen 
belaying-pins." 

" Which ? " inquired the doctor ; " the old lady with 
the stu'n-sails set on her shoulders ? " 



HUDSON'S BAY. 15 

" No, no," replied the captain, " the young lady, fat — 
very fat, fair, and twenty, with the big bkie eyes, like 
signal lamps on a locomotive ; she twisted me round just 
as if I'd been a fathom of pump-water, shouting and 
laughing all the time in my face, like a sou'west gale, 
and never looking a bit where she was going, till she 
pitched headforemost into the union-jack, carrying it and 
me along with her, off the quarter-deck and halfway 
down the companion. It's a blessing she fell undermost, 
else I should have been spread all over the deck like a 
capsized pail of slops." 

" Hallo ! " exclaimed the doctor, " what's wrong with 
the old lady over there. She's making very uncommon 
faces ! " 

" She's sea-sick, I do believe ! " cried the captain, rush- 
ing across the deck towards her. And, without doubt, 
the old lady in question was showing symptoms of that 
terrible malady, although the bay was as smooth as a 
mill-pond, and the Prince Rupert reposed on its quiet 
bosom without the slightest perceptible motion. 

With impressive nautical politeness the captain handed 
her below, and, in the sudden sympathy of his heart pro- 
posed, as a remedy, a stiff glass of brandy and water. 

" Or a pipe of cavendish," suggested the second mate, 
who met them on the ladder as they descended, and could 
not refrain from a facetious remark, even although he 
knew it would, as it did, call forth a thundering com- 
mand from his superior to go on deck and mind his own 
business. 

" Isn't it jolly," said a young Stornowite, coming up to 
Wiseacre, with a face blazing with glee — " isn't it jolly, 
Mr. Wiseacre?" 

" Oh ! very," replied Wiseacre, in a voice of such dis- 



16 HUDSON'S BAY. 

mal melancholy that the young Stornowite's countenance 
instantly went out, and he wheeled suddenly round to 
light it again at the visage of some more sympathizing 
companion. 

Just at this point of the revelry the fiddler's first string, 
which had endured with a dogged tenacity that was won- 
derful even for catgut, gave way with a loud bang, caus- 
ing an abrupt termination to the uproar and producing a 
dead silence. A few minutes, however, soon rectified 
this mischance. The discordant tones of the violin, as 
the new string was tortured into tune, once more opened 
the safety-valve, and the ball began de novo. 

Great was the fun, and numerous were the ludicrous 
incidents, that happened during that eventful night ; and 
loud were the noise and merriment of the dancers as they 
went with vigorous energy through the bewildering evo- 
lutions of country-dance and reel. Immense was the 
delight of the company when the funniest old gentleman 
there volunteered a song ; and ecstatic the joy when he 
followed it up by a speech upon every subject that an 
ordinary mind could possibly embrace in a quarter of an 
hour. But who can describe the scene that ensued, when 
supper was reported ready in the cabin ! A cabin that 
was very small indeed, with a stair leading down to it so 
steep that those who were pretty high up could have 
easily stepped upon the shoulders of those who were 
near the foot, and the unpleasant idea was painfully sug- 
gested, that if any one of the heavy ladies (there were 
several of them) was to slip her foot on commencing the 
descent, she would infaUibly sweep them all down in a 
mass, and cram them into the cook's pantry, the door of 
which stood wickedly open at the foot of the stair, as if 
it anticipated some such catastrophe. Such pushing. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 17 

squeezing, laughing, shrieking, and joking, in the vain 
attempt made to get upwards of thirty people crammed 
into a room of twelve feet by ten ! Such droll and cut- 
ting remarks as were made when they were at last re- 
quested to sup in detachments ! All this, however, was 
nothing to what ensued after supper, when the fiddler 
became more energetic, and the dancers more vigorous 
than ever. But enough. The first gray streaks of morn- 
ing glimmered in the east ere the joyous party " tumbled 
down the sides," and departed to their homes. 

There is a sweet yet melancholy pleasure, when far 
away from friends and home, in thinking over happy days- 
gone by, and dwelling on the scenes and pleasures that 
have passed away, perhaps forever. So I thought and 
felt, as I recalled to mind the fun and frolic of the Storno.- 
way ball, and the graver mirth of the Gravesend dinner,, 
until memory traced my course backward, step by step,, 
to the peaceful time when I dwelt in Scotland, surrounded 
by the gentle inmates of my happy home. "We had left 
the shores and the green water behind us, and were now 
ploughing through the blue waves of the wide Atlantic ; 
and, when I turned my straining eyes towards the faint 
blue line of the lessening hills, " a tear unbidden trem- 
bled," as the thought arose that I looked, perhaps, for the 
last time upon my dear native land. 

The sea has ever been an inexhaustible subject for the 
pens of most classes of writers. The poet, the traveller, 
and the novelist have each devoted a portion of their time 
and talents to the mighty ocean ; but that part of it which 
it has fallen to my lot to describe is very different from 
those portions about which poets have sung with rapture. 
Here, none of the many wonders of the tropical latitudes 
beguile the tedium of the voyage ; no glittering dolphins 
2 



18 HUDSON'S BAY. 

force the winged inhabitants of the deep to seek sheher 
on the vessel's deck ; no ravenous sharks follow in our 
wake to eat us if we chance to fall overboard, or amuse 
us by swallowing our baited hook ; no passing vessel 
cheered us with the knowledge that there were others 
besides oui'selves roaming over the interminable waste of 
waters. All was dreary and monotonous ; the same un- 
varying expanse of sky and water met our gaze each 
morning as we ascended to the deck, to walk for half-an- 
hour before breakfast, except when the topsails of the 
other two vessels fluttered for a moment on the distant 
ihorizon. Occasionally we approached closer to each 
'Other, and once or twice hailed with the trumpet ; but 
these breaks in the solitude of our existence were few 
and far between. 

Towards the end of July we approached Hudson's 
Straits, having seen nothing on the way worth mention- 
ing, except one whale, which passed close under the stern 
of the ship. This was a great novelty to me, being the 
first that I had ever seen, and it gave me something to 
talk of and think about for the next four days. 

The ships now began to close in, as we neared the en- 
trance of the straits, and we had the pleasure of sailing 
in company for a few days. The shores of the straits 
became visible occasionally, and soon we passed with per- 
fect confidence and security among those narrow channels 
and mountains of ice that damped the ardour and re- 
tarded the progress of Hudson, Button, Gibbons, and 
other navigators in days of yore. 

One day, -during a dead cahn, our ship and the Prince 
of Wales lay close to each other, rolling in the swell of 
the glassy ocean. There seemed to be no prospect of a 
breeze ; so the captain ordered his gig to be launched'. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 19 

and invited the doctor, Mr. Carles, and myself, to go on 
board the Prince of Wales with him. We accepted his 
offer, and were soon alongside. Old Captain Ryle, a 
veteran in the Company's service, received us kindly, and 
insisted on our staying to tea. The passengers on board 
were, a chief factor,* who had been home on leave of ab- 
sence, and was returning to end his days, perhaps, in the 
northwest ; and Mr. John Leagues, a young apprentice 
clerk, going, like myself, to try his fortune in Hudson's 
Bay. He was a fine, candid young fellow, full of spmt, 
with a kind, engaging disposition. From the first mo- 
ment I saw him I formed a friendship for him, which was 
destined to ripen into a lasting one many years after. I 
sighed on parting from him that evening, thinking that 
we should never meet again ; but about six years from 
the time I bade him farewell in Hudson's Straits, I again 
grasped his hand on the shores of the mighty St. Law- 
rence, and renewed a friendship which afforded me the 
greatest pleasure I enjoyed in the country, and which, I 
trust, neither time nor distance will ever lessen or destroy. 

We spent the evening delightfully, the more so that 
we were not likely to have such an opportunity again, as 
the Prince of Wales would shortly part company from 
us, and direct her course to Moose Factory, in James's 
Bay, while we should proceed across Hudson's Bay to 
York Factory. We left the ship just as a few cat's-paws 
on the surface of the water gave indications of a coming 
breeze. 

Ice now began to surround us in all directions, and 
soon after this I saw, for the first time, that monster of 
the Polar Seas, an iceberg. It was a noble sight. We 

* The chief factorship is the highest rank attainable in the service ; 
the chief trader being next. 



20 -HUDSON'S BAY. 

passed quite close, and had a fine opportunity of observ- 
ing it. Though not so large as they are frequently seen, 
it was beautifully and fantastically formed. High peaks 
rose from it on various places, and down its sides streams 
of water and miniature cataracts flowed in torrents. The 
whole mass was of a delicate greenish-white color, and 
its lofty pinnacles sparkled in the moonbeams as it floated 
past, bending majestically in the swell of the ocean. 
About this time, too, we met numerous fields and floes 
of ice, to get through which we often experienced con- 
siderable difficulty. 

My favorite amusement, as we thus threaded our way 
through the ice, was to ascend to the royal-yard, and 
there to sit and cogitate whilst gazing on the most beau- 
tiful and romantic scenes. 

It is impossible to convey a correct idea of the beauty, 
the magnificence, of some of the scenes through which we 
passed. Sometimes thousands of the most grotesque, 
fanciful, and beautiful icebergs and icefields surrounded 
us on all sides, intersected by numerous serpentine ca- 
nals, which glittered in the sun, (for the weather was fine 
nearly all the time we were in the straits,) like threads 
of silver twining round ruined palaces of crystal. The 
masses assumed every variety of form and size, and many 
of them bore' such a striking resemblance to cathedrals, 
churches, columns, arches, and spires, that I could almost 
fancy we had been transported to one of the floating 
cities of Fairy-land. The rapid motion, too, of our ship, 
in what appeared a dead calm, added much to the mag- 
ical effect of the scene. A light but steady breeze urged 
her along with considerable velocity through a maze of 
ponds and canals, which, from the immense quantity of 
ice that surrounded them, were calm and unruffled as 
the surface of a mill-pond. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 21 

Not a sound disturbed tlie delightful stillness of na- 
ture, save the gentle rippling of the vessel's bow as she 
sped on her way, or the occasional puffing of a laay 
whale, awakened from a nap by our unceremonious in- 
trusion on his domains. Now and then, however, my 
reveries were interrupted by the ship coming into sudden 
contract with huge lumps of ice. This happened occa- 
sionally when we arrived at the termination of one of 
those natural canals through which we passed, and found 
it necessary to force our way into the next. These con- 
cussions were occasionally very severe ; so much so, at 
times, as to make the ship's bell ring ; but we heeded 
this little, as the vessel was provided with huge blocks 
of timber on her bows, called ice-pieces, and was besides 
built expressly for sailing in the northern seas. It only 
became annoying at meal-times, when a spoonful of soup 
would sometimes make a little private excursion of its 
own over the shoulder of the owner, instead of into his 
mouth. 

As we proceeded, the ice became more closely packed, 
and at last compelled us to bore through it. The ship, 
however, was never altogether arrested, though often 
much retarded. I recollect, while thus surrounded, fill- 
ing a bucket with water from a pool on the ice, to see 
whether it was fresh or not, as I had been rather skep- 
tical upon this point. It was excellent, and might almost 
compete with the water from the famous spring of Craw- 
ley ! In a few days we got out of the ice altogether, 
and in this, as the ships are frequently detained for 
weeks in the straits, we considered ourselves very for- 
tunate. 

We all experienced at this time a severe disappoint- 
ment in the non-appearance of the Esquimaux from the 



22 HUDSON'S BAY. 

coast. The captain said they would be sure to come off 
to us, as they had always been in the habit of doing so, 
for the purpose of exchanging ivory and oil, for saws, 
files, needles, &c., a large chest full of which is put on 
board annually for this purpose. The ivory usually pro- 
cured from- them is walrus tusks. These are not very 
large, and are of inferior quality. 

As we approached the shores of the straits we short- 
ened sail and fired three or four guns, but no noisy 
'^chiino " floated across the water in answer to our salute ; 
still we lingered for a while, but, as there was no sign 
of the natives on shore, the captain concluded they had 
gone off to the interior, and he steered out to sea again. 
I was very much disappointed at this, as it was wholly . 
unexpected, and Wiseacre and I had promised ourselves 
much pleasure in trading with them ; for which purpose 
all the buttons of our old waistcoats had been amputated. 
It was useless, however, to repine, so I contented myself 
with the hope that they would yet visit us in some other 
part of the straits. We afterwards learned that our 
guns had attracted them to the coast in time to board the 
Prince Albert^ (which was out of sight astern,) though 
too late for us. 

The passage across Hudson's Bay was stormy, but no 
one on board cared for this, all having become accus- 
tomed to rough weather. For my part, I had become 
quite a sailor, and could ascend and descend easily to the 
truck without creeping through the liihher'-s hole. I shall 
not forget the first time I attempted this ; our youngest 
apprentice had challenged me to try it, so up we went 
together — he on the fore, and I on the main mast. The 
tops were gained easily, and we even made two or three 
steps up the top-mast shrouds with affected indifference ; 



HUDSON'S BAY. 23 

but, alas ! our courage was failing, at least mine was, 
very fast. However, we gained the cross-trees pretty 
well, and then sat down for a little to recover breath. 
The top-gallant-mast still reared its taper form high above 
me, and the worst was yet to come. The top-gallant 
shrouds had no rattlins on them, so I was obliged to shin 
up ; and,, as I worked myself up the two small ropes, the 
tenacity with which I grasped them was fearful. At last 
I reached the top, and with my feet on the small collar 
that fastens the ropes to the mast, and my arms circling 
the mast itself — for nothing but a bare pole, and crossed 
by the royal-yard, now rose above me — I glanced up- 
wards. -After taking a long breath, and screwing up my 
courage, I slowly shinned up the slender pole, and, stand- 
ing on the royal-yard, laid my hand upon the truch ! 
After a time I became accustomed to it, and thought 
nothing of taking an airing on the royal-yard after break- 
fast. 

About the 5th or 6th of August, the captain said we 
must be near the land. The deep sea lead was rigged, 
and ,a sharp look-out kept, but no land appeared. At 
last, one fine day, while at the mast-head, I saw some- 
thing like land on the horizon, and told them so on deck. 
They saw it too, but gave me no answer. Soon a hur- 
ried order to " dowse top-gallant-sails and reef top-sails " 
made me slide down rather hastily from my elevated 
position. I had scarcely gained the deck, when a squall, 
the severest we had yet encountered, struck the ship, lay- 
ing her almost on her beam-ends, and the sea, which had 
been nearly calm a few minutes before, foamed and hissed 
like a seething caldron, and became white as snow. 
This, I believe, was what sailors call a white squall. It 
was as short as it was severe, and great was our relief 



24 HUDSON'S BAY. 

when the ship regained her natural position in the water. 
Next day we saw land in earnest, and in the afternoon 
anchored in " Five Fathom Hole," after passing in safety 
a sand-bar, which renders the entrance into this roadstead 
rather difficult. 

Here, then, for the first time, I beheld the shores of 
Hudson's Bay ; and, truly, their appearance was any- 
thing but prepossessing. Though only at the distance of 
two miles, so low and flat was the land that it appeared 
ten miles off, and scarcely a tree was to be seen. We 
could just see the tops of one or two houses in York 
Factory, the principal depot of the country, Avhich was 
seven miles up the river at the mouth of which we lay. 
In a short time, the sails of a small schooner came in 
sight, and in half an hour more the Frances (named after 
the amiable lady of the governor. Sir George Simpson) 
was riding alongside. 

The skipper came on board, and immediately there 
commenced between him and the captain a sharp fire of 
questions and answers, which roused me from a slumber 
in which I had been indulging, and hurried me on deck. 
Here the face of things had changed. The hatches were 
off, and bales of goods were scattered about in all direc- 
tions ; another small schooner had arrived, and the pro- 
cess of discharging the vessel was going rapidly forward. 
A boat was then despatched to the factory wnth the 
■packet-box and letter-bag, and soon after the Frances 
stood in for the shore. 

The Prince Albert had arrived almost at the same 
moment wdth the Prince Rupert, and was now visited by 
the second schooner, which soon returned to our ship to 
take the passengers on shore. The passengers who 
came out in the Prince Albert were on board, namely, 



HUDSON'S BAY. 25 

the Eev. Mr. Gowley, a clergyman of the Church of 
England, and his lady, and Mr. Eob, a sort of catechist 
or semi-clerical schoolmaster. They were missionaries 
bound for Red River Colony, and as I had some prospect 
of going there myself, I was delighted to have the prob- 
able chance of traveUing with companions who, from the 
short survey I had of them while they conversed with 
the captain and Mr. Carles, seemed good-natured and 
agreeable. 

Mr. Carles, Mr. Wiseacre, and I, now bade adieu to 
the good ship which had been our home for such a length 
of time, (but I must say I did not regret the parting,) 
and followed our baggage on board the schooner, expect- 
ing to reach the factory before dusk. " There's many a 
slip 'twixt the cup and the hp," is a proverb well au- 
thenticated and often quoted, and on the present occasion 
its truth was verified. We had not been long under 
weigh before the ebb tide began to run so strong against 
us as to preclude the possibility of our reaching the shore 
that night. There was no help for it, however ; so down 
went the anchor to the bottom, and down went I to the 
cabin. 

Such a cabin ! A good-sized trunk, with a small table 
in it, and the lid shut down, had about as much right to 
the name. It was awfully small ; even / could not 
stand upright in it, though at the time I had scarcely 
attained to the altitude of five feet ; yet here were we 
destined to pass the night — and a wretched night we did 
pass ! We got over the first part tolerably, but as it 
grew late our eyes grew heavy; we yawned, fidgeted, 
and made superhuman efforts to keep awake and seem 
happy ; but it would not do. There were only two berths 
in the cabin ; and, as so many gentlemen were present, 



26 HUDSON'S BAY. 

Mrs. Gowley would not get into eitlier of them, but de- 
clared she would sit up all night. The gentlemen, on 
the other hand, could not be so ungallant as to go to 
sleep while the only lady present sat up. The case was 
desperate, and so I went off to the hold, intending to lie 
down on a bale, if I could find one. In 'my search, I 
tumbled over something soft, which gave vent to a fright- 
ful howl, and proved to be no less a personage than Mr. 
Wiseacre, who had anticipated me, and found a con- 
venient place whereon to lie. My search, however, was 
less successful. Not a corner big enough for a cat to 
sleep in was to be found, all the goods having been flung 
hastily into the hold, so that it was a chaos of box corners, 
stove legs, edges of kegs and casks, which presented a 
surface that put to flight all hope of horizontal repose ; 
so I was obhged to return to the cabin, where I found 
the unhappy inmates winking and blinking at each other 
like owls in the sunshine. 

" You had better make use of one of these berths, my 
young friend," said Mr. Gowley, with a bland smile, as I 
entered ; " you seem very much overcome with sleep, 
and %oe have resolved to sit up all night." 

" Do get in," urged Mrs. Gowley, who was a sweet, 
gentle creature, and seemed much too delicate and fragile 
to stand the rough life that was likely to be the lot of the 
wife of a missionary to the Red men of the Far North ; 
" I do not intend to lie down to-night, and, besides, it will 
soon be morning." A sweet but very sleepy smile flitted 
across her face as she spoke. 

Of course, I protested against this with great vehe- 
mence, assuring them that I could not think of anything 
so ungallant, and that I meant to sit it out manfully with 
the rest. Mr. Rob, who was a comical little Welshman, 



HUDSON'S BAY. 27 

of al3ont thirty years of age, with a sharp, snub nose, 
which was decorated with spectacles, sat huddled up in a 
corner, immersed in sleepiness to such an extent that he 
would not have smiled for worlds, and spent the weary 
hours in vain efforts to keep his head on his shoulders — 
an object, apparently, of some difficulty, seeing that it 
swayed backwards and forwards and -round about like 
that of a Chinese mandarin ! For a few minutes I 
sat gazing steadfastly at the revolving object before me, 
when ray own head became similarly affected, and fell 
suddenly back against the bulkhead with a tremendous 
crash, wakening them all up, and causing Mr. Rob 
to stare at me with an expression of vacant gravity, 
mingled wath surprise, which slowly and gradually 
faded away again as sleep reasserted its irresistible 
power. 

Flesh and blood could not stand this ; I would have 
lain down on the table, but poor Mrs. Gowley's head al- 
ready covered the greater part of that — or on the floor, 
but, alas ! it was too small. At last I began to reason 
thus with myself: "Here are two capital beds, with 
nobody in them ; it is the height of folly to permit them 
to remain empty; but then, what a selfish-looking thing 
to leave Mrs. Gowley sitting up ! After all, she 'WonH 
go to bed. Oh dear ! what is to be done ? " (Bang went 
the head again.) " You'd better turn in," said Mr. Gow- 
ley. Again I protested that I could not think of it ; but 
my eyes would not keep open to look him in the face. 
At last my scruples — I blush to say it — were overcome, 
and I allowed myself to be half forced into the berth, 
while Mr. Rob, whose self-denial could endure no longer, 
took advantage of the confusion thus occasioned, and van- 
ished into the other like a harlequin. Poor Mr. and Mrs. 



28 HUDSON'S BAY. 

Gowley laid their innocent heads side by side upon the 
table, and snored in concert. 

How long I slept I know not ; but long before day a 
tremendous thumping awoke me, and after I had col- 
lected my faculties enough to understand it, I found that 
the schooner was grounding as the tide receded. " Oh I " 
thought I, and, being utterly incapable of thinking more, 
I fell back on the pillow again, sound asleep, and did not 
awake till long after daybreak. 

Next morning was beautiful ; but we were still 
aground, and, from what the skipper said, there appeared 
to be no prospect of getting ashore till the afternoon. 
Our patience, however, was not tried so long ; for, early 
in the day, a boat came off from the factory to take us 
ashore, but the missionaries preferred remaining in the 
schooner. Mr. Carles, young Wiseacre, and I, gladly 
availed ourselves of the opportunity, and were soon sail- 
ing with a fair breeze up Hayes River. We approached 
to within a few yards of the shore ; and I formed, at 
first sight, a very poor opinion of the country which, 
two years later, I was destined to traverse full many 
a mile in search of the feathered inhabitants of the 
marshes. 

The point of marsh, which was the first land we made, 
was quite low, only a few feet above the sea, and stud- 
ded here and there with thick willows, but not a single 
tree. Long lank grass covered it in every place, afford- 
ing ducks and geese shelter in the autumn and spring. 
In the centre of it stood the ship-beacon, a tall, ungainly- 
looking pile, which rose upwards like a monster out of the 
water. Altogether, a more desolate prospect could not 
well be imagined. 

The banks of Hayes River are formed of clay, and 



HUDSON'S BAY. -29 

they improved a little in verdure as we ascended ; but 
still, wherever the eye turned, the same universal flat- 
ness met the gaze. The river was here about two 
miles wide, V and filled with shallows and sandbanks, 
which render the navigation difficult for vessels of above 
fifty tons. 

As we proceeded, a small bark canoe, with an Indian 
and his wife in it, glided swiftly past us ; and this was 
the first Indian, and the first of these slender craft, I had 
seen. Afterwards, I became more intimately acquainted 
with them than was altogether agreeable. 

In a short time we reached the wooden wharf, which, 
owing to the smallness of everything else in the vicinity, 
had rather an imposing look, and projected a long way 
into the water ; but our boat passed this and made for a 
small slip, on which two or three gentlemen waited to 
receive us. 

My voyage was ended. The boat's keel grated harsh- 
ly on the gravel, the next moment my feet once more 
pressed terra Jirma, and I stood at last on the shores of 
the New World, a stranger in a strange land. 

I do not intend to give a minute description of York 
Factory here, as a full account of it will be found in a 
succeeding chapter, and shall, therefore, confine myself 
to a slight sketch of the establishment, and our proceed- 
ings there during a stay of about three weeks. 

York Factory is the principal depot of the Northern 
department, from whence all the supplies for the trade 
are issued, and where all the furs of the district are col- 
lected and shipped for England. As may be supposed, 
then, the establishment is a large one. There are always 
between thirty and forty men resident at the post,* sum- 

* The word "^:»os?," used here and elsewhere throughout the book, 



30 HUDSON'S BAY. 

mer and winter ; generally four or five clerks, a post- 
master, and a skipper for the small schooners. The 
whole is under the direction and superintendence of a 
chief factor, or chief trader. 

As the winter is very long, (nearly eight months,) and 
the summer very short, all the transport of goods to, and 
returns from, the interior, must necessarily be effected as 
quickly as possible. The consequence is, that great num- 
bers of men and boats are constantly arriving from the 
inland posts, and departing again, during the summer; 
and as each brigade is commanded by a chief factor, 
trader, or clerk, there is a constant succession of new 
faces, which,. after a long and dreary winter, during which 
the inhabitants never see a stranger, renders the sum- 
mer at York Factory the most agreeable part of the 
year. The arrival of the ship from England, too, de- 
lights these inhabitants of the wilderness with letters 
from liome, which can only be received twice a year — 
namely, at the time now alluded to, by the ship ; and 
again in December, when letters and accounts are con- 
veyed throughout the interior by means of sledges drawn 
by men. 

The fort, (as all establishments in the Indian country, 
whether small or great, are sometimes called,) is a large 
square, I should think about six or seven acres, enclosed 
within high stockades, and planted on the banks of Hayes 
River, nearly five miles from its mouth. The houses are 
all of wood, and, of course, have no pretension to archi- 
tectural beauty ; but their ^clean white appearance and 
regularity have a pleasing effect on the eye. Before 
the front gate stand four large brass field-pieces ; but 

signifies an establishment of any kind, small or gi'eat, and has no 
reference whatever to the ^'■jjost " of epistolary notoriety. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 31 

these warlike instruments are only used for the purpose 
of saluting the ship with blank cartridge on her arrival 
and departure, the decayed state of the carriages render- 
ing it dangerous to load the guns with a full charge. 

The country, as I said before, is flat and swampy, and 
the only objects that rise very prominently above the 
rest, and catch the wandering eye, are a lofty " outlook," 
or scaffolding of wood, painted black, from which to 
watch for the arrival of the ship ; and a flag-staiF, from 
whose peak, on Sundays, the snowy folds of St. George's 
flag flutter in the breeze. 

Such was York Factory in 1841 ; and as this descrip- 
tion is sufficient to give a general idea of the place, I 
shall conclude it, and proceed with my narrative. 

Mr. Grave, the chief factor then in charge, received us 
very kindly, and introduced us to some of the gentlemen 
standing beside him on the wharf. Mr. Carles, being 
also a chief factor, was taken by him to the commissioned 
gentlemen^ s house, while Wiseacre and I, being apprentice 
clerks, were shown the young gentlemen's house — or, as 
the young gentlemen themselves called it, .Bachelors' 
Hall — and were told to make ourselves at home. To 
Bachelors' Hall, then, we proceeded, and introduced our- 
selves. The persons assembled there were, the account- 
ant, five clerks, the postmaster, and one or two others. 
Some of them were smoking, and some talking, and a 
pretty considerable noise they made. Bachelors' Hall, 
indeed, was worthy of its name, being a place that would 
have killed any woman, so full was it of smoke, noise, 
and confusion. 

After having made ourselves acquainted with every- 
body, I thought it time to present a letter of introduction 
I had to Mrs. Grave, the wife of the gentleman in charge, 



32 HUDSON'S BAY. 

who received me very kindly. I was much indebted to 
this lady for supplying me with several pairs of moccasins 
for my further voyage, and much useful information, with- 
out which I should have been badly off indeed. Had it 
not been for her kindness, I should in all probability have 
been allowed to depart very ill provided for the journey 
to Red River, for which I was desired to hold myself in 
readiness. Young Wiseacre, on the other hand, learned 
that he was to remain at York Factory that winter, and 
was placed in the office the day after our arrival, where 
he commenced worh for the first time. We had a long 
and sage conversation upon the subject the same evening, 
and I well remember congratulating him, with an ex- 
tremely grave face, upon his having now begun to do for 
himself. Poor fellow, his subsequent travels in the coun- 
try were long and perilous. , 

But let us pause here awhile. The reader has been 
landed in a new country, and it may be well, before de- 
scribing our voyage to Red River, to make him acquainted 
with the peculiarities of the service, and the people with 
whom he will in imagination have to associate. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 33 



CHAPTER m. 

DESCRIPTION or THE HUDSON'S BAT COMPANY. 

IN the year 1669, a company was formed in London, 
under the direction of Prince Rupert, for the purpose 
of prosecuting the fur trade in the regions surrounding 
Hudson's Bay. This company obtained a charter from 
Charles II., granting to them and their successors, under 
the name of " the Governor and Company of Adventurers 
trading into Hudson's Bay," the sole right of trading in 
all the country watered by rivers flowing into Hudson's 
Bay. The charter also authorized them to build and fit 
out men-of-war, establish forts, prevent any other com- 
pany from carrying on trade with the natives in their 
territories, and required that they should do all in their 
power to promote discovery. 

Armed with these powers, then, the Hudson's Bay 
Company established a fort near the head of James's 
Bay. Soon afterwards, several others were built in dif- 
ferent parts of the country; and before long, the Com- 
pany spread and grew wealthy, and eventually extended 
their trade far beyond the chartered limits. 

"With the internal economy of the Company under 
the superintendence of Prince Rupert, however, I am 
not acquainted ; but as it will be necessary to the 
reader's forming a correct idea of the peculiarities of 
the country and service, that he should know some- 
thing of its character under the direction of the present 
3 



34 HUDSON'S BAY. 

active governor, I shall give a brief outline of its ar- 
rangements. 

Keader, you will materially assist me in my description 
if you will endeavor to draw tlie following landscape on 
the retina of your mind's eye. 

Imagine an immense extent of country, many hundred 
miles broad and many hundred miles long, covered with 
dense forests, expanded lakes, broad rivers, wide prairies, 
swamps, and mighty mountains ; and all in a state of pri- 
meval simplicity — undefaced by the axe of civilized man, 
and untenanted by aught save a few roving hordes of 
Red Indians and myriads of wild animals. Imagine 
amid this wilderness a number of small squares, each in- 
'Closing half-a-dozen wooden houses and about a dozen 
men, and between each of these establishments a space 
of forest varying from fifty to three hundred miles in 
length ; and you will have a pretty correct idea of the 
Hudson's Bay Company's territories, and of the number 
of, and distance between their forts. The idea, however, 
may be still more correctly obtained, by imagining popu- 
lous Great Britain converted into a wilderness and 
planted in the middle of Rupert's Land. The Company, 
in that case, would build three forts in it — one at the 
Land's-end, one in Wales, and one in the Highlands ; so 
that in Britain there would be but three hamlets, with a 
population of some thirty men, half-a-dozen women, and 
a few children ! The Company's posts extend, with these 
intervals between, from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean, 
and from within the Arctic Circle to the northern boun- 
daries of the United States. 

Throughout this immense country there are probably 
not more ladies than would suffice to form half-a-dozen 
quadrilles; and these — poor banished creatures! — are 



HUDSON'S BAY. 35 

chiefly the wives of the principal gentlemen connected 
with the fur trade. The rest of the female population 
consist chiefly of half-breeds and Indians ; the latter en- 
tirely devoid of education, and the former as much en- 
lightened as can be expected from those whose life is 
spent in such a country. Even these are not very nu- 
merous, and yet without them the men would be in a sad 
condition, for they are the only tailors and washer-women 
in the country, and make all the mittens, moccasins, fur 
caps, deer-skin coats, &c., &c., worn in the land. 

There are one or two favored spots, however, into 
which a missionary or two have penetrated ; and in Red 
River settlement, the only colony in the Company's terri- 
tories, there are several churches and clergymen, both 
Protestant and Roman Catholic. 

The country is divided into four large departments. 
The Northern department, which includes all the estab- 
lishments in the far north and frozen regions ; the South- 
ern department, including those to the south and east of 
this, the post at the head of James's Bay, and along the 
shores of Lake Superior ; the Montreal department, in- 
cluding the country in the neighborhood of Montreal, 
up the Ottawa River, and along the north shore of the 
Gulf of St. Lawrence and Esquimaux Bay'; and the 
Columbia department, which comprehends an immense 
extent of country to the west of the Rocky Mountainis, 
including the Oregon territory, which, although the Hud- 
son's Bay Company still trade in it, now belongs to the 
Americans. 

These departments are divided into a number of dis- 
tricts each under the direction of an influential officer ; 
and these again are subdivided into numerous establish- 
ments, forts, posts, and outposts. 



36 HUDSON'S BAY. 

The name of fort, as already remarked, is given to all 
the posts in the country, but some of them certainly do 
not merit the name ; indeed, few of them do. The only 
two in the country that are real, hona fide forts, are Fort 
Garry and the Stone Fort in the colony of Red River, 
which are surrounded by stone walls with bastions at the 
corners. The others are merely defended by wooden 
pickets or stockades ; and a few, where the Indians are 
quiet and harmless, are entirely destitute of defence of 
any kind. Some of the chief posts have a complement 
of about thirty or forty men ; but most of them have 
only ten, five, four, and even two, besides the gentleman 
in charge. As in most instances these posts are planted 
in a wilderness far from men, and the inhabitants have 
only the society of each other, some idea may be formed 
of the solitary Hfe led by many of the Company's ser- 
vants. 

The following is a list of the forts in the four different 
departments, as correctly given as possible ; but, owing 
to the great number in the country, the constant abandon- 
ing of old and establishing of new forts, it is difficult to 
get at a perfectly correct knowledge of their number 
and names : — 

Northern Department. 

York Fort (the depot). Manitoba House. 

ChurchUl. Fort Polly. 

Severn. Cumberland House. 

Oxford House. Carlton House. 

Trout Lake House. Fort Pitt. 

Norway House. Edmonton. 

Nelson Eiver House. Eocky IMountain House. 

Berens Eiver House. Fort Assinaboine. 

Eed Eiver Colony. Jasper's House. 

Fort Garry. Henry's House. 

Stone Fort. Fort Chipewyan. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 



37 



Fort Venuilion. 
Fort Dunvegan. 
Fort Simpson. 
Fort Norman. 
Fort Good Hope. 
Fort Halkett. 



Fort Resolution. 
Peel's River. 
Fort Alexander. 
Rat Portage House. 
Fort Fi-ances. 
Isle a la Orosse. 



Southern Depakt:mext. 



Moose Factory (the depot). 

Rupert's House. 

Fort George. 

Michiskan. 

Albany. 

Lac Seul. 

Kinogomousse. 

Matawagamingue. 

Kuckatoosli. 

New Brunswick. 

Abitibi. 

Temiscamingue. 

Grand Lac. 

Trout Lake. 

]\IONTREAI, 

Lachine (the depot). 

Riviere du Moine. 

Lac des AUumettes, 

Fort Coulonge. 

Riviere Desert. 

Lac des Sables. 

Lake of Two Mountains. 

Kikandatch. 

Weymontachingue. 

Rat River. 

Ashabmoushwan. 

Chicoutimie. 

Lake St. John's. 

Tadousac. 

Isle Jeremie. 

Port Neuf. 



Matarva. 

Canasicomica. 

Lacloche. 

Sault de Ste. Maria. 

Fort William. 

Pic House. 

Michipicoton. 

Bachiwino. 

Nepigon. 

Washwonaby. 

Pike Lake. 

Tern agamy. 

Green Lake. 

Missisague. 

Department. 

Goodbout. 
Trinity River. 
Seven Islands. 
Mingan. 
Nabisippi. 
Natosquene. 
ilusquarro. 
Fort Nascopie. 
;Mainewan Lake. 
Sandy Banks. 
Gull Islands. 
Northwest River. 
Rigolet. 
Kiboksk. 
Ey click. 



COLUJIBIA DePART^IEXT. 

Fort Vancouver (the depot). Fort George. 



38 HUDSON'S BAY. 

Nez Perce. Nisqually. 

Ockanagaa. Alexandria. 

Colville. Fort Chilcotin. 

Fort Hall. Fort James. 

Thompson's Eiver. Fort Fluz Cuz. 

Fort Langley. * Babine Lake. 

Cootanies. And an agency in the Sandwich 

Flat-head Post. Islands. 

There are seven different grades in the service. First 
the laborer, who is ready to turn his hand to anything ; 
to become a trapper, fisherman, or rough carpenter, at 
the shortest notice. He is generally employed in cutting 
firewood for the consumption of the establishment at 
which he is stationed, shovelling snow from before the 
doors, mending all sorts of damages to all sorts of things, 
and, during the summer months, in transporting furs and 
goods between his post and the nearest depot. Next in 
rank is the interpreter. He is, for the most part, an in- 
telligent laborer, of pretty , long standing in the service, 
who, having picked up a smattering of Indian, is conse- 
quently very useful in trading with the natives. After 
the interpreter comes the postmaster, usually a promoted 
laborer, who, for good behavior or valuable services, has 
been put upon a footing with the gentlemen of the ser- 
vice, in the same manner that a private soldier in the 
army is sometimes raised to the rank of a commissioned 
officer. At whatever station a postmaster may happen 
to be placed, he is generally the most useful and active 
man there. He is often placed in charge of one of the 
many small stations, or outposts, throughout the country. 
Next are the apprentice clerks — raw lads, who come out 
fresh from school, with their mouths agape at the wonders 
^hey behold in Hudson's Bay. They generally, for the 
purpose of appearing manly, acquire all the bad habits 



HUDSON'S BAY. 39 

of the country as quickly as possible, and are stuffed full 
of what they call fun, with a strong spice of mischief. 
They become more sensible and sedate before they get 
through the first five years of their apprenticeship, after 
which they attain to the rank of clerks. The clerk, after 
a number of years' service, (averaging from thirteen to 
twenty,) becomes a chief trader, (or half-shareholder,) 
and in a few years more- he attains the highest rank to 
which any one can rise in the service, that of chief 
factor (or shareholder). 

It is a strange fact, that three fourths of the Com- 
pany's servants are Scotch Highlanders and Orkney- 
men. There are very few Irishmen, and still fewer 
English. A great number, however, are half-breeds and 
French Canadians, especially among the laborers and 
voyageurs. 

From the great extent, and variety of feature, in the 
country occupied by the fur traders, they subsist, as may 
be supposed, on widely different kinds of food. In the 
prairie, or plain countries, animal food is chiefly used, as 
there thousands of deer and bisons wander about, while 
the woods are stocked with game and wild-fowl. In 
other places, however, where deer are scarce and game 
not so abundant, fish of various kinds are caught in the 
rivers and lakes ; and in other parts of the country they 
live partly upon fish and partly upon animal food. Vege- 
tables are very scarce in the more fiorthern posts, owing- 
to the severity of the winter, and consequent shortness^ 
of summer. As the Company's servants are liable, on 
the shortest notice, to be sent from one end of the con- 
tinent to another, they are quite accustomed to change of 
diet ; — one year rejoicing in buffalo-humps and marrow- 
bones, in the prairies of the Saskatchewan, and the next 



40 HUDSON'S BAY. 

devouring hung white-fish and scarce venison, in the 
sterile regions of Mackenzie's Eiver, or varying the meal 
with a little of that delectable substance often spoken of 
by Franklin, Back, and Richardson, as their only dish — 
namely, tripe-de-roche — a lichen or moss which grows on 
the most barren rocks, and is only used as food in the 
absence of all other provisions. 

During the first years of the Company, they were 
much censured for not carrying out the provision con- 
tained in the royal charter, that they should prosecute 
discovery as much as possible ; and it was even alleged 
that they endeavored to prevent adventurers, not con- 
nected with themselves, from advancing in their re- 
searches. There is every reason to believe, however, 
that this censure was undeserved. A new company, 
recently formed in a wild country, could not at first be 
expected to have time or funds to advance the arduous 
and expensive cause of discovery. With regard to their 
having impeded the attempts of others, it is doubtful 
whether any one in the service ever did so ; but even 
had such been the case, the unauthorized and dishonor- 
able conduct of one or two of their servants, does not 
sanction the condemnation of the whole Company. Be- 
sides, the cause of discovery was effectively advanced in 
former days by Heme, and in later years by Dease and 
Simpson, Dr. Rae, and others ; so that, whatever might 
have been the case %t first, there -can be no doubt that 
the Company are doing much for the cause now. 

The trade carried on by the Company is in peltries of 
all sorts, oil, dried and salted fish, feathers, quills, &c. 
A list of some of their principal articles of commerce is 
subjoined : — 



HUDSON'S BAY. 41 

Beaver-skins. Fox-skins, Red. 

Bear-skins, Black. Ditto, White. 

Ditto, Brown. Ditto, Blue. 

Ditto, White or Polar. Goose-skins. 

Ditto, Grizzly. Ivory (tusks of the Walrus). 

Baclger-skins. Lynx-skins. 

Buffalo or Bison Robes.* Marten-skins. 

Castorum.f Musquash-skins. 

Deer-skins, Rein. Otter-skins. 

Ditto, Red. Oil, Seal. 

Ditto, Moose or Elk. Ditto, Whale. 

Ditto, parchment. Swan-skins. 

Feathers of all kinds. Salmon, salted. 

Fishei'-skins. Seal-skins. 

Fox-skins, Black. Wolf-skins. 

Ditto, Silver. Wolverine-skins. 

Ditto, Cross. 

The most valuable of the furs mentioned in the above 
list is that of the hlach fox. This beautiful animal re- 
sembles in shape the common fox of England, but it is 
much larger, and jet black, with the exception of one or 
two white hairs along the backbone and a pure white 
;i i he end of the tail. A single skin sometimes 
brings from twenty-five to thirty guineas in the British 
market ; but, unfortunately, they are very scarce. The 
silver fox differs from the black fox only in the number 
of white hairs with which its fur is sprinkled ; and the 
more numerous the white hairs, the less valuable does it 
become. The cross fox is a cross between the black or 
silver and the red fox. The red fox bears a much in- 
ferior fur to the other kinds ; yet it is a good article 

* The hide of the bison — or, as it is called by the fur traders, the 
buffalo — when dressed on one side and the hair left on the other, is 
called a robe. Great numbers are sent to Canada, where they are 
used for sleigh wrappers in winter. In the Indian country they are 
often used instead of blankets. 

t A substance procured from the body of the beaver. 



42 HUDSON'S BAY. 

of trade, as this species is very numerous. These four 
kinds of foxes are sometimes produced in the same litter, 
the mother being a red fox. The white fox is of less 
value than the red, and is also very numerous, particu- 
larly on the shores of Hudson's Bay. The variety termed 
the hlue fox is neither numerous nor valuable. It is of 
a dirty bluish-gray color, and seldom makes its appear- 
ance at the Company's posts. 

Beaver, in days of yore, was the staple fur of the 
country ; but, alas ! the silk hat has given it its death- 
blow, and the star of the beaver has now probably set 
forever — that is to say, with regard to men ; probably 
the animals themselves fancy that their lucky star has 
just risen. The most profitable fur in the country is that 
of tjie marten. It somewhat resembles the Russian 
sable, and generally maintains a steady price. These 
animals, moreover, are very numerous throughout most 
part of the Company's territories, particularly in Macken- 
zie's River, whence great numbers are annually sent to 
England. 

All the above animals and a few others are caught in 
steel and wooden traps by the natives ; while deer, buf- 
faloes, &c., are run down, shot, and snared in various 
ways, the details of which will be found in another part 
of this volume. ^ 

Trade is carried on with the natives by means of a 
standard valuation, called in some parts of the country a 
castor. This is to obviate the necessity of circulating 
money, of which there is little or none, excepting in the 
colony of Red River. Thus, an Indian arrives at a fort 
with a bundle of furs, with which he proceeds to the 
Indian trading-room. There the trader separates the 
furs into different lots, and, valuing each at the standard 



HUDSON'S BAY. 43 

valuation, adds the amount together, and tells the Indian, 
(who has looked on the while with great interest and 
anxiety,) that he has got fifty or sixty castors ; at the 
same time he hands the Indian fifty or sixty little bits 
of wood in lieu of cash, so that the latter may know, by 
returning these in payment of the goods for which he 
really exchanges his skins, how fast his funds decrease. 
The Indian then looks round upon the bales of cloth, 
powder-horns, guns, blankets, knives, &c., with which the 
shop is filled, and after a good while makes up his mind 
to have a small blanket. This being given him, the 
trader tells him that the price is six castors ; the purchas- 
er hands back six of his little bits of wood, and selects 
something else. In this way he goes on till all his 
wooden cash is expended, and then packing up his goods, 
departs to show his treasures to his wife, and another 
Indian takes his place. The value of a castor is from 
one to two shillings. The natives generally visit the 
establishments of the Company twice a year — once in 
October, when they bring in the produce of their autumn 
hunts ; and again in March, when they come in with that 
of the great winter hunt. 

The number of castors that an Indian makes in a 
winter hunt varies from fifty to two hundred, according 
to his perseverance and activity, and the part of the 
country in which he hunts. The largest amount I ever 
heard of was made by a man called Piaquata-Kiscum, 
who brought in furs on one occasion to the value of 
two hundred and sixty castors. The poor fellow was 
soon afterwards poisoned by his relatives, who were jeal- 
ous of his superior abilities as a hunter, and envious of 
the favor shown him by the white men. 

After the furs are collected in spring at all the differ- 



44 HUDSON'S BAY. 

ent outposts, tliey ai*e packed in conveniently sized bales, 
and lbr^Ya^ded by means of boats and canoes, to the three 
chief depots on the sea-coast — namely, Fort Vancouver, 
at the mouth of the Columbia River, on the shores of the 
PaciHc ; York Fort, on the shores of Hudson's Bay ; 
and Moose Factory, on the shores of James's Bay, 
whence they are transported in the Company's ships to 
Enghmd. The whole country in summer is, consequently, 
in commotion with the passing and repassing of brigades 
of boats laden with bales of merchandise and furs ; the 
still waters of the labes and rivers are rippled by the 
paddle and the oar ; and the long-silent echoes which 
have slumbered in the icy embrace of a dreary Avinter, 
are now once more awakened by the merry voice and 
tuneful song of the hardy voyageur. 

This slight sketch of the Hudson's Bay Company and 
of the territories occupied by them may, for the present, 
serve to give some idea of the nature of the service and 
the appearance of the country. AVe shall now proceed 
to write of the Indians inhabiting these wild regions. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 45 



CHAPTER IV. 

NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS— THEIR MANNERS AND CUSTOMS, ETC. 

THE aborigines of North America are divided into a 
gi^eat number of nations or tribes, differing not only 
in outward appearance, but also in customs and modes of 
life, and in some instances entertaining for each other a 
bitter and implacable hatred. 

To describe the leading peculiarities of some of these 
tribes, particularly those called Crees, will be my object 
in the present chapter. 

Some of the tribes are known by the following names : 
— Crees, Seauteaux, Stone Indians, Sioux, Blackfeet, 
Chipewyans, Slave Indians, Crows, Flatheads, &c. Of 
these, the Crees are the quietest and most inoffensive ; 
they inhabit the woody country surrounding Hudson's 
Bay ; dwell in tents ; never go to war ; and spend their 
time in trapping, shooting, and fishing. The Seauteaux 
are similar to the Crees in many respects, and inhabit 
the country further in the interior. The Stone Indians, 
Sioux, Blackfeet, Slave Indians, Crows, and Flatheads, 
inhabit the vast plains and forests in the interior of 
America, on the east and west of the Rocky Mountains, 
and live chiefly by the produce of the chase. Their 
country swarms with bisons, and varieties of deer, bears, 
&c., which they hunt, shoot, snare, and kill in various 
ways. Some of these tribes are well supplied with 
horses, with which they hunt the buffalo. This is a wild 



46 HUDSON'S BAY. 

inspiriting chase, and the natives are very fond of it. 
They use the gun a good deal, but prefer the bow and 
arrow (in the use of which they are very expert) for the 
chase, and reserve the gun for warfare, many of them 
being constantly engaged in skirmishing with their ene- 
mies. As the Crees were the Indians with whom I had 
the most intercourse, I shall endeavor to describe my old 
friends more at length. 

The personal appearance of the men of this tribe is 
not bad. Although they have not the bold daring car- 
riage of the wilder tribes, yet they have active-looking 
figures, intelligent countenances, and a peculiar bright- 
ness in their dark eyes, which, from a constant habit of 
looking around them while travelling through the woods, 
are seldom for a moment at rest. Their jet black hair 
generally hangs in straight matted locks over their shoul- 
ders, sometimes ornamented with beads and pieces of 
metal, and occasionally with a few partridge feathers ; 
but they seldom wear a hat or cap of any kind, except 
in winter when they make clumsy imitations of foraging- 
caps with furs — preferring, if the weather be warm, to 
go about without any head-dress at all, or, if it be cold, 
using the large hood of their capotes as a covering. 
They are thin, wiry men, not generally very muscular in 
their proportions, but yet capable of enduring great fa- 
tigue. Their average height is about five feet five 
inches ; and one rarely meets with individuals varying 
much from this average, nor with deformed people, among 
them. The step of a Cree Indian is much longer than 
that of a European, owing, probably, to his being so 
much accustomed to walking through swamps and forests, 
where it is necessary to take long strides. This pecu- 
liarity becomes apparent when an Indian arrives at a 



HUDSON'S BAY. 47 

fort, and walks along tlie hard ground inside the walls 
with the trader, whose short, bustling, active step, con- 
trasts oddly with the long, solemn, ostrich-like stride of 
the savage ; which, however appropriate in the woods, 
is certainly strange and ungraceful on a good road. 

The summer dress of the Indian is almost entirely 
provided for him by the Hudson's Bay Company ; it 
consists chiefly of a blue or gray cloth, or else a blanket 
capote reaching below the knee, made much too loose for 
the figure, and strapped round the waist with a scarlet or 
crimson worsted belt. A very coarse blue striped cot- 
ton shirt is all the under-clothing they wear, holding 
trousers to be quite superfluous ; in lieu of which they 
make leggins of various kinds of cloth, which reach from 
a few inches above the knee down to the ankle. These 
leggins are sometimes very tastefully decorated with bead- 
work, particularly those of the women, and are provided 
with flaps or wmgs on either side. 

This costume, however, is slightly varied in winter. 
The blanket or cloth capote is then laid aside for one of 
smoked red-deer skin, which has very much the appear- 
ance of chamois leather. This is lined with flannel, or 
some other thick warm substance, and edged with fur 
(more for ornament, however, than warmth) of diflferent 
kinds. Fingerless mittens, with a place for the thumb, 
are also adopted ; and shoes or moccasins of the same 
soft material. The moccasins are very beautiful, fitting 
the feet as tightly as' a glove, and are tastefully orna- 
mented with dyed porcupine quills and silk thread of 
various colors ; at which work the women are pai'ticu- 
larly au fait. As the leather of the moccasin is very 
thin,* blanket and flannel socks are worn underneath — 

* Many people at home have asked me how such thin things can 



48 HUDSON'S BAY. 

one, two, or even four pairs, according to the degree of 
cold ; and in proportion as these socks are increased in 
number, the moccasin, of course, loses its elegant appear- 
ance. 

The Indian women are not so good-looking as the men. 
They have an awkward slouching gait, and a dow^ncast 
look — arising, probably, from the rude treatment they 
experience from their husbands ; for the North Ameri- 
can Indians, like all other savages, make complete 
drudges of their women, obliging them to do all the la- 
borious and dirty work, while they reserve the pleasures 
of the chase for themselves. Their features are some- 
times good, but I never saw a really pretty woman among 
the Ci'ees. Their color, as well as that of the men, is a 
dingy brown, which, together with their extreme filthi- 
ness, renders them anything but attractive. They are, 
how^ever, quiet, sweet-tempered, and inoffensive creatures, 
destitute as well of artijficial manners as of stays. Their 
dress is a gown, made without sleeves, and very scanty 
in the skirt, of coarse blue or green cloth ; it reaches 
down to a little under the knee, below which their limbs 
are cased in leggins beautifully ornamented. Their wdiole 
costume, however, like that of the men, is almost always 
hid from sight by a thick blanket, without which the In- 
dian seldom ventures abroad. The women usually make 
the top of the blanket answ^er the purpose of a head- 
dress ; but when they wish to appear very much to ad- 
vantage, they put on a cap made of a square piece of 
blue cloth, profusely decorated with different colored 

keep out the wet of the snow. The reader must bear in mind that 
the snow for nearly seven months, is not even damp for five minutes, 
so constant is the frost. When it becomes wet in spring, Europeans 
adopt ordinary English shoes, and Indians do not mind the wet. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 49 

beads, and merely sewed up at the top. They wear their 
hair in long straggling locks, which have not the slightest 
tendency to curl, and occasionally in cues or pigtails 
behind ; but in this respect, as in every other, they are 
very careless of their personal appearance. 

These primitive children of the forest live in tents of 
deer-skin or bark ; and sometimes, where skins are 
scarce, of branches of trees. They are conically shaped, 
and are constructed thus : The Indian and his family 
(probably two wives and three or four children) arrive 
in their bark canoe at a pretty level spot, sheltered from 
the north wind, and conveniently situated on the banks- 
of a small stream, where the fish are plentiful, and j^ine- 
branches (or brush), for the floor of the tent, abundant- 
Here he runs his canpe ashore, and carries his goods and 
chattels up the bank. His first business is to cut a num- 
ber of long poles, and tie three of them at the top,, 
spreading them out in the form of a tripod. He then 
piles all the other poles round these, at half-a-foot dis- 
tance from each other, and thus incloses a circle of be- 
tween fifteen and twenty feet in diameter. Over the 
poles (if he is a good hunter, and has plenty of deer- 
skins) he spreads the skin tent, leaving an opening at 
the top for the egress of the smoke. If the tent be a 
birch-bark one, he has it in separate rolls, which are 
spread over the poles, till the whole is covered. A 
small opening is left facing the river or lake, which 
serves for a doorway ; and this is covered with an old 
blanket, a piece of deer-skin, or, in some instances, by 
a bison-skin or buffalo robe. The floor is covered with 
a layer of small pine branches, which serve for carpet 
and mattress ; and in the centr.e is placed the wood fire, 
which, when blazing brightly, gives a warmth and com- 
4 



50 HUDSON'S BAY. 

fort to the slight habitation that could scarcely be be- 
lieved. Here the Indian spends a few days or weeks, 
according to the amount of game in the vicinity ; and 
then removes to some other place, carrying with him 
the covering of the tent, but leaving the poles standing, 
as they would be cumbrous to carry in his small canoe, 
and thousands can be had at every place where he may 
wish to land. 

The Indian canoe is an exceedingly light and graceful 
little craft, and well adapted for travelling in through a 
•wild country, where the rivers are obstructed by long 
rapids, waterfalls, and shallows. It is so light that one 
jnan can easily carry it on his shoulders over the land, 
when a waterfall obstructs his progress ; and as it only 
sinks about four or six inches in^the water, few places 
are too shallow to float it. The birch bark of which it 
is made is about a quarter of an inch thick, and the in- 
side is lined with extremely thin flakes of wood, over 3 
which a number of light timbers are driven, to give '^ 
strength and tightness to the machine. In this frail ,';: 
bark, which measures from twelve, fifteen, thirty, to forty 
feet long, and from two to four feet broad in the middle, ^ ^ 
a whole Indian family of eight or ten souls will travel 
hundreds of miles over rivers and lakes innumerable; 
■now floating swiftly down a foaming rapid, and anon 
gliding over the surface of a quiet lake, or making a 
portage over-land when a rapid is too dangerous to de- 
scend ; and, while the elders of the family assist in 
carrying the canoe, the youngsters run about plucking 
berries, and the shaggy little curs (one or two of which 
are possessed by every Indian family) search for food, 
or bask in the sun at the foot of the baby's cradle, which 
stands bolt upright against a tree, while the child gazes 
upon all these operations with serene indifference. 



-1 



HUDSON'S BAY. 51 

Not less elegant and useful than the canoe, is the 
snow-shoe, without which the Indian would be badly off 
indeed. It is not, as many suppose, used as a kind of 
sJcate, with which to slide over the snow, but as a ma- 
chine to prevent, by its size and breadth, the wearer 
from sinking into the snow which is so deep that, with- 
out the assistance of the snow-shoe, no one could walk a 
quarter of a mile through the woods in winter, without 
being utterly exhausted. 

It is formed of two thin pieces of light wood, tied at 
both ends, and spread out near the middle ; thus making 
a kind of long oval, the interior of which is filled up with 
network of deer-skin threads. Strength is given to the 
frame by placing wooden bars across ; and it is fiistened 
loosely to the foot by a slight line going over the toe. In 
case, however, it may be supposed that by a shoe I mean 
an article something the size of a man's foot, it may be 
as well to state, that snow-shoes measure homfoiir to six 
feet long, and from thirteen to twenty inches wide. Not- 
withstanding their great size, the extreme lightness of 
their materials prevents them being cumbrous ; and, after 
a little practice, a traveller forgets that he has them on, 
if the weather be good for such walking. Frosty weath- 
er is the best for snow-shoe travelKng, as the snow is fine 
and dust-like, and falls through the network. If the 
weather be warm, the wet snow renders the shoe heavy, 
and the lines soon begin to gall the feet. On these shoes 
an Indian will travel between twenty and thirty miles a 
day, and they often accomplish from thirty to forty when 
hard pressed. 

The food of the Indian varies according to circum- 
stances. Sometimes he luxuriates on deer, partridges, 
and fat beaver ; whilst at others he is obliged to live 



52 HUDSON'S BAY. 

almost entirely on fish, 'and not unfrequently on tripe-de 
rocJie. This substance, however, does no more than re- 
tard his ultimate destruction by starvation; and unless 
he meets with something more nourishing, it cannot pre- 
vent it. When starving, the Indian will not hesitate to 
appease the cravings of hunger by resorting to canni- 
balism ; and there were some old dames with whom I 
was myself acquainted, who had at different periods 
eaten several of their children. Indeed, some of them, 
it was said, had also eaten their husbands ! 

The following anecdote, related to me by my friend 
Carles, who spent many years of his life among the 
North American Indians, depicts one of the Avorst of 
these cases of cannibalism. 

It was in the spring of 18 — that Mr. Carles stood in 
the Indian Hall of one of the far-distant posts in Atha- 
basca, conversing with a party of Chipewyan Indians, 
who had just arrived with furs from their winter hunting- 
grounds. The large fires of wood, sparkling and blazing 
cheerfully up the wide chimney, cast a bright light round 
the room, and shone upon the dusky countenances of the 
Chlpewyans, as they sat gravely on the floor, smoking 
their spwagans in silence. A dark shade lowered upon 
every face, as if thoughts of an unpleasant nature dis- 
turbed their minds ; and so It was. A deed of the most 
revolting description had been perpetrated by an Indian 
of the Cree tribe, and they were about to relate the story 
to Mr. Carles. 

After a short silence, an old Indian removed his pipe, 
and looking round upon the others, as if to ask their con- 
sent to his becoming spokesman, related the particulars 
of the story, the substance of which I now give. 

Towards the middle of winter, Wisagun, a Cree Indian 



HUDSON'S BAY. 53 

removed his encampment to another part of the country, 
as game was scarce in the place where he had been resid- 
ing. His family consisted of a wife, a son of eight or nine 
years of age, and two or three children, besides several 
of his relations ; in all, ten souls, including himself. 
In a few days they arrived at their new encamping 
ground, after having suffered a great deal of misery 
by the w^ay, from starvation. They were all much ex- 
hausted and worn out, but hoped, having heard of buf- 
faloes in the vicinity, that their sufferings would soon be 
relieved. 

Here they remained several days without finding any 
game, and were reduced to the necessity of devouring 
their moccasins and leathern coats, rendered eatable by 
being singed over the fire. Soon this wretched resource 
was also gone, and they were reduced to the greatest 
extremity, when a herd of buffaloes was descried far 
away in the prairie on the edge of which they were 
encamped. All were instantly on the qui vive. Guns 
were loaded, snow-shoes put on, and in ten minutes the 
males of the hungry party set off after the herd, leaving 
Wisagun's wife and children with another girl in the tent. 
It was not long, however, before the famished party began 
to grow tired. Some of the weakest dropped behind ; 
while Wisagun, with his son Natappe, gave up the chase, 
and returned to the encampment. They soon arrived at 
it, and Wisagun, peeping in between the chinks of the 
tent to see what the women were doing, saw his wife 
engaged in cutting up one of her own children, prepara- 
tory to cooking it. In a transport of passion, the Indian 
rushed forward and stabbed her, and also the other 
woman ; and then, fearing the wrath of the other Indians, 
he fled to the woods. It may be conceived what were 



54 HUDSON'S BAY. 

the feelings of the remainder of the party when they 
returned and found their relatives murdered. They were 
so much exhausted, however, by previous suffering, that 
they could only sit down and gaze on the mutilated bod- 
ies in despair. During the night Wisagun and Natappe 
returned stealthily to the tent, and, under cover of the 
darkness, murdered the whole party as they lay asleep. 
Soon after this, the two Indians were met by another 
party of savages, in good condition, although, from the 
scarcity of game, the others were starving. The former 
accounted for this, however, by saying that they had 
fallen in with a deer not long ago ; but that, before this 
had happened, all the rest of the family had died of star- 
vation. 

It was the party who had met the two Indians wander- 
ing in the plains that now sat round the fire relating the 
story to Mr. Carles. 

The tale was still telling when the hall door slowly 
opened, and Wisagun, gaunt and cadaverous, the very 
impersonation of famine, slunk into the room, along with 
Natappe, and seated himself in a corner near the fire. 
Mr. Carles soon obtained from his own lips confirmation 
of the horrible deed, which he excused by saying that 
7nost of his relations had died before he ate them. 

In a few days after this, the party of Indians took their 
departure from the house, to proceed to their village in 
the forest ; and shortly after Wisagun and Natappe also 
left, to rejoin their tribe. The news of their deeds, how- 
ever, had preceded them, so they were received very 
coldly ; and soon after Wisagun pitched his tent, the 
other Indians removed, with one accord, to another place, 
as though it were impossible to live happily under the 
shadow of the same trees. This exasperated Wisagun so 



HUDSON'S BAY. 55 

much that he packed up his tent and goods, launched his 
canoe, and then, before starting, went up to the village, 
and told them it was true he had killed all his relatives ; 
and that he was a conjurer, and had both power and in- 
clination to conjure them to death too. He then strode 
down to the banks of the river, and, embarking with his 
son, shot out into the stream. The unhappy man had 
acted rashly in his wrath. There is nothing more dan- 
gerous than to threaten to kill a savage, as he will cer- 
tainly endeavor to kill the person who threatens him, in 
order to render the execution of his purpose impossible. 
Wisagun and his son had no sooner departed, than two 
men coolly took up their guns, entered a canoe, and fol- 
lowed them. Upon arriving at a secluded spot, one of 
them raised his gun and fired at Wisagun, who fell over 
the side of the canoe, and sank to rise no more. With 
the rapidity of thought, Natappe seized his father's gun, 
sprang ashore, and bounded up the bank ; a shot was 
fired which went through the fleshy pai't of his arm, and 
the next moment he was behind a tree. Here he called 
out to the Indians, who were reloading their guns, not to 
kill him, and he would tell them all. After a little con- 
sideration, they agreed to spare him ; he embarked with 
them, and was taken afterwards to the fort, where he 
remained many years in the Company's service. 

Although instances of cannibaUsm are not unusual 
among the Indian tribes, they do not resort to it from 
choice, but only when urged by the irrepressible cravings 
of hunger. 

All the Indian tribes are fond of spirits ; and in for- 
mer times, when the distribution of rum to the natives 
was found necessary to compete with other companies, the 
use of the "fire water" was carried to a fearful extent. 



56 HUDSON'S BAY. 

Since Sir George Simpson has been governor, however, 
the distribution of spirits has been ahuost entirely given 
up ; and this has proved a most beneficial measure for the 
poor Indians. 

Tobacco also is consumed by them in great quantities ; 
indeed, the pipe is seldom out of the Indian's mouth. If 
he is not hunting, sleeping, or eating, he is sure to be 
smoking. A peculiar kind of shrub is much used by them, 
mixed with tobacco, partly for the purpose of making it 
go far, and partly because they can smoke more of it at 
a time with impunity. 

The Indian is generally very lazy, but can endure, 
when requisite, great fatigue and much privation. He 
can go longer without eating than a European, and, from 
the frequent fasts he has to sustain, he becomes accus- 
tomed, without injury, to eat more at a meal than would 
kill a white man. The Indian children exhibit this 
power in a very extraordinary degree, looking sometimes 
wretchedly thin and miserable, and an hour or two after- 
wards waddling about with their little stomachs swollen 
almost to bursting ! 

When an Indian wants a wife, he goes to the fair one's 
father, and asks his consent. This being obtained, he 
informs the young lady of the circumstance, and then 
returns to his wigwam, whither the bride follows him, 
and installs herself as mistress of the house without fur- 
ther ceremony. Generally speaking, Indians content 
themselves with one wife, but it is looked upon as neither 
unusual nor improper to take two, or even three wives. 
The great point to settle is the husband's ability to sup- 
port them. Thus, a bad hunter can only afford one wife, 
whilst a good one may have three or four. 

If an old man or woman of the tribe becomes infirm, 



HUDSON'S BAY. 57 

and unable to proceed with the rest when travelling, he 
or she, as the case may be, is left behind in a small tent 
made of willows, in which are placed a little firewood, 
some provisions, and a vessel of water. Here the un- 
happy wretch remains in solitude till the fuel and pro- 
visions are exhausted, and then dies. Should the tribe 
be in their encampment when an Indian dies, the de- 
ceased is buried, sometimes in the ground, and sometimes 
in a rough wooden coffin raised a few feet above it. They 
do not now bury guns, knives, &c., with their dead, as 
they once did, probably owing to their intercourse with 
white men. 

The Supreme Being, among the Indians, is called 
Manitow ; but he can scarcely be said to be worshipped 
by them, and the few ideas they have of his attributes 
are imperfect and erroneous. Indeed, no religious rites 
exist among them, unless the unmeaning mummery of 
the medicine tent can be looked upon as such. Of late 
years, however, missionaries, both of the Church of Eng- 
land and the Wesleyans, have exerted themselves to 
spread the Christian religion among these tribes, than 
whom few savages can be more unenlightened or morally 
degraded ; and there is reason to believe that the light of 
the gospel is now beginning to shine upon them with 
beneficial influence. 

There is no music in the soul of a Cree, and the only 
time they attempt it is w^hen gambling, of which they 
are passionately fond, when they sing a kind of monoto- 
nous chant accompanied with a noisy rattling on a tin 
kettle. The celebrated war-dance is now no longer in 
existence among this tribe. They have wisely renounced 
both war and its horrors long ago. Among the wilder 
inhabitants of the prairies, however, it is still in vogue, 



08 HUDSON'S BAY. 

with all the dismal accompaniments of killing, scalping, 
roasting, and torturing, that distinguished American war- 
fare a hundred years ago. 

The different methods by which the Indian succeeds in 
snaring and trapping animals are numerous. A good 
idea of these may be had by following an Indian in his 
rounds. 

Suppose yourself, gentle reader, standing at the gate 
of one of the forts in Hudson's Bay, watching a savage 
arranging his snow-shoes, preparatory to entering the 
gloomy forest. Let us walk with this Indian on a visit 
to his traps. 

The night is very dark, as the moon is hid by thick 
clouds, yet it occasionally breaks out sufficiently to illu- 
mine our path to Stoma w's wigwam, and to throw the 
shadows of the neighboring trees upon the pale snow, 
which crunches under our feet as we advance, owing to 
the intense cold. No wind breaks the stillness of the 
night, or shakes the lumps of snow off the branches of 
the neighboring pines or willows ; and nothing is heard 
save the occasional crackling of the trees as the severe 
frost acts upon their branches. The tent, at which we 
soon arrive, is pitched at the foot of an immense tree, 
which stands in a little hollow where the willows and 
pines are luxuriant enough to afford a shelter from the 
north wind. Just in front, a small path leads to the river, 
of which an extensive view is had through the opening, 
showing the long fantastic shadows of huge blocks and 
mounds of ice cast upon the white snow by the flickering 
moonlight. A huge chasm, filled with fallen trees and 
mounds of snow, yawns on the left of the tent, and the 
ruddy sparks of fire which issue from a hole i;i its top, 
throw this and the surrounding forest into deeper gloom. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 59 

The effect of this wintry scene upon the mind is melan- 
choly in the extreme — causing it to speed across the 
bleak and frozen plains, and visit again the warm fireside 
and happy faces in a far distant home ; and yet there is 
a strange romantic attraction in the wild woods that grad- 
ually brings it back again, and makes us impatient to 
begin our walk with the Indian. Suddenly the deer-skin 
robe that covers the aperture of the wigwam is raised, 
and a bright stream of warm light gushes out, tipping 
the dark green points of the opposite trees, and mingling 
strangely with the paler light of the moon — and Stemaw 
stands erect in front of his solitary home, to gaze a few 
moments on the sky, and judge of the weather, as he in- 
tends to take a long walk before laying his head upon 
his capote for the night. He is in the usual costume of 
the Cree Indians : a large leathern coat, very much over- 
lapped in front, and fastened round his waist with a scar- 
let belt, protects his body from the cold. A small rat- 
skin cap covers his head, and his legs are cased in the 
ordinary blue-cloth leggins. Large moccasins, with two 
or three pair of blanket socks, clothe his feet, and finger- 
less mittens, made of deer-skin, complete his costume. 
After a few minutes passed in contemplation of the 
heavens, the Indian prepares himself for the walk. First 
he sticks a small axe in his belt, serving as a counterpoise 
to a large hunting-knife and fire-bag which depend from 
the other side. He then slips his feet through the lines 
of his snow-shoes, and throws the line of a small hand- 
sledge over his shoulder. The hand-sledge is a thin flat 
slip or plank of wood, from five to six feet long by one 
foot broad, and is turned up at one end. It is extremely 
light, and Indians invariably use it when visiting their 
traps, for the purpose of dragging home the animals or 



60 HUDSON'S BAY. 

game they may have caught. Haying attached this 
sledge to his back, he stoops to receive his gun from his 
faithful squaio,* who has been watching his operations 
through a hole in the tent; and throwing it on his 
shoulder, strides off, without uttering a word, across the 
moonlit space in front of the tent, turns into a narrow 
track that leads down the dark ravine, and disappears in 
the shades of the forest. Soon he reaches the termina- 
tion of the track, (made for the purpose of reaching 
some good dry trees for firewood,) and stepping into the 
deep snow with the long, regular, firm tread of one ac- 
customed to snow-shoe walking, he winds his way rap- 
idly through the thick stems of the surrounding trees, 
and turns aside the smaller branches 'Of the bushes. 

The forest is now ' almost dark, the foliage overhead 
having become so dense that the moon only penetrates 
through it in a few places, causing the spots on which it 
falls to shine with a strange phosphoric light, and render- 
ing the surrounding masses darker by contrast. The 
faint outline of an old snow-shoe track, at first discerni- 
ble, is now quite invisible ; but still Stemaw moves for- 
ward with rapid, noiseless step, as sure of his way as if 
a broad beaten track lay before him. In this manner he 
moves on for nearly two miles, sometimes stooping to 
examine closely the newly made track of some wild ani- 
mal, and occasionally giving a glance at the sky through 
the openings in the leafy canopy above him, when a faint 
sound in the bushes ahead brings him to a full stop. He 
listens attentively, and a noise, like the rattling of a 
chain, is heard proceeding from the recesses of a dark 
wild-looking hollow a few paces in front. Another mo- 

=* Scjueiaw is the Indian for a woman. Squaio is the English corrup- 
tion of the word, and is used to signify a wife. 



HUDSO^-'S BAY. 61 

ment, and the rattle is again distinctly heard ; a slight 
smile of satisfaction crosses Stemaw's dark visage, for 
one of his traps is set in that place, and he knows that 
something is caught. Quickly descending the slope, he 
enters the bushes whence the sound proceeds, and pauses 
when within a yard or two of his trap, to peer through 
the gloom. A cloud passes off the moon, and a faint ray 
reveals, it may be, a beautiful black fox caught in the 
snare. A shght blow on the snout from Stemaw's axe- 
handle kills the unfortunate animal ; m ten minutes more 
it is tied to his sledge, the trap is reset and again covered 
over with snow, so that it is almost impossible to tell 
that anything is there ; and the Indian pursues his 
way. 

The steel-trap used by the Indians is almost similar to 
the ordinary rat-trap of England, with this difference, 
that it is a little larger, is destitute of teeth, and has two 
springs in place of one. A chain is attached to one 
spring for the purpose of fixing a weight to the trap, so 
that the animal caught may not be able to drag it far 
from the place where it was set. The track in the snow 
enables the hunter to find his trap again. It is generally 
set so that the jaws, when spread out flat, are exactly on 
a level with the snow. The chain and weight are both 
hid, and a thin layer of snow spread on top of the trap. 
The bait (which generally consists of chips of a frozen 
partridge, rabbit', or fish) is then scattered around in 
every direction ; and, with the exception of this, nothing 
distinguishes the spot. Foxes, beavers, wolves, lynx, 
and other animals, are caught in this way, sometimes by 
a fore-leg, sometimes by a hind-leg, and sometimes by 
two legs at once, and occasionally by the nose. Of all 
these ways the Indians prefer catching by two legs, as 



62 HUDSON'S BAY. 

there is then not the slightest possibility of the animal 
escaping. When foxes are caught by one leg, they often 
eat it off close to the trap, and escape on the other three. 
I have frequently seen this happen ; and I once saw a 
fox caught which had evidently escaped in this way, as 
one of its legs was gone, and the stump healed up and 
covered again with hair. When they are caught by the 
nose they are almost sure to escape, unless taken out of 
the trap very soon after being caught, as their snouts are 
so sharp or wedge-like that they can pull them from be- 
tween the jaws of the trap without much difficulty. 

Having now described the way of using this machine, 
we will rejoin Stemaw, whom we left on his way to the 
next trap. There he goes, moving swiftly over the snow 
mile after mile, as if he could not feel fatigue, turning 
aside now and then to visit a trap, and giving a short 
grunt when nothing is in it, or killing the animal when 
caught, and tying it on the sledge. Towards midnight, 
however, he begins to walk more cautiously, examines 
the priming of his gun, and moves the axe in his belt, as 
if he expected to meet some enemy suddenly. The fact 
is, that close to where he now stands are two traps which 
he set in the morning close to each other for the purpose 
of catching one of the formidable coast wolves. These 
animals are so sagacious that they will scrape all round a 
trap, let it be ever so well set, and after eating all the 
bait, walk away unhurt. Indians consequently endeavor 
in every possible way to catch them, and, among others, 
by setting two traps close together ; so that, while the 
wolf scrapes at one, he may perhaps put his foot in the 
other. It is in this way that Stemaw's traps are set, and 
he now proceeds cautiously towards them, his gun in the 
hollow of his left arm. Slowly he advances, peering 



HUDSON'S BAY. 63 

tlirougli the bushes, but nothing is visible ; suddenly a 
branch crashes under his snow-shoe, and with a savage 
growl a large wolf bounds towards him, landing almost at 
his feet. A single glance, however, shows the Indian 
that both traps are on his legs, and that the chains pre- 
vent his further advance. He places his gun against a 
tree, draws his axe from the belt, and advances to kill the 
animal. It is an undertaking, however, of some difficulty. 
The fierce brute, which is larger than a Newfoundland 
dog, strains every nerve and sinew to break its chains ; 
while its eyes ghsten in the uncertain light, and foam 
curls from its blood-red mouth. Now it retreats as the 
Indian advances, grinning horribly as it goes ; and anon, 
as the chains check its further retreat; it springs with 
fearful growl towards Stemaw, who slightly wounds it 
with his axe, as he jumps backward just in time to save 
himself from the infuriated animal, which catches in its 
fangs the flap of his leggin, and tears it from his limb. 
Again Stemaw advances, and the wolf retreats and again 
springs on him, but without success. At last, as the 
wolf glances for a moment to one side — apparently to 
see if there is no way of escape — quick as lightning the 
axe flashes in the air, and descends with stunning vio- 
lence on its head ; another blow follows, and in five 
minutes more the animal is fastened to the sledge. 

This, however, has turned out a more exhausting busi- 
ness than Stemaw expected ; so he determines to encamp 
and rest for a few hours. Selecting a large pine, whose 
spreading branches cover a patch of ground free from 
underwood, he scrapes away the snow with his snow- 
shoe. Silently but busily he labors for a quarter of an 
hour ; and then, having cleared a space seven or eight 
feet in diameter, and nearly four feet deep, he cuts down 



64 HUDSON'S BAY. 

a number of small branches, which he strews at the bot- 
tom of the hollow, till all the snow is covered. This 
clone, he fells two or three of the nearest trees, cuts them 
up into lengths of about five feet long, and piles them at 
the root of the tree. A light is soon applied to the pile, 
and up glances the ruddy flame, crackling among the 
branches overhead, and sending thousands of bright 
sparks into the air. No one who has not seen it can 
have the least idea of the change that takes place in the 
appearance of the woods at night, when a large fire is 
suddenly lighted. Before, all was cold, silent, chilling, 
gloomy, and desolate, and the pale snow looked unearthly 
in the dark. Now, a bright ruddy glow falls upon the 
thick stems of 'the trees, and penetrates through the 
branches overhead, tipping those nearest the fire with a 
ruby tinge, the mere sight of which warms one. The 
white snow changes to a beautiful pink, whilst the stems 
of the trees, bright and clearly visible near at hand, be- 
come more and more indistinct in the distance, till they 
are lost in the black background. The darkness, how- 
ever, need not be seen from the encampment, for, when 
the Indian lies down, he will be surrounded by the snow 
walls, which sparkle in the firelight as if set with dia- 
monds. These do not melt, as might be expected The 
frost is much too intense for that, and nothing melts ex- 
cept the snow quite close to the fire. Stemaw has now 
concluded his arrangements : a small piece of dried deer's 
meat warms before the blaze ; and, meanwhile, he spreads 
his green blanket on the ground, and fills a stone calumet 
(or pipe with a wooden stem) with tobacco, mixed with a 
kind of weed prepared by himself. The white smoke 
from this soon mingles with the thicker volumes from the 
fire, which curl up through the branches into the sky, 



HUDSON'S BAY. 65 

now shrouding him in their wreaths, and then, as the 
bright flame obtains the mastery, 'leaving his dark face 
and coal-black eyes shining in the warm light. JSTo one 
enjoys a pipe more than an Indian ; and Stemaw's tran- 
quil visage, wreathed in tobacco smoke, as he reclines at 
full length under the spreading branches of the pine, and 
allows the white vapor to pass slowly out of his mouth 
and nose, certainly gives one an excellent idea of savage 
enjoyment. 

Leaving him here then, to solace himself w^th a pipe, 
preparatory to resting his wearied limbs for the night, 
"we will change the hour, and conduct the reader to a 
different scene. 

It is now day. The upper edge of the sun has just 
risen, red and frosty-looking, in the east, and countless 
myriads of icy particles glitter on every tree and bush, 
in its red rays ; while the white tops of the snow-drifts, 
which dot the surface of the small lake at which we have 
just arrived, are tipped with thp same rosy hue. The 
lake is of considerable breadth, and the woods on its 
opposite shore are barely visible. An unbroken coat of 
pure white snow covers its entire surface, whilst here and 
there a small islet, covered with luxuriant evergreens, 
attracts the eye, and breaks the sameness of the scene. 
At the extreme left of the lake, where the points of a few 
bulrushes and sedgy plants appear above the snow, are 
seen a number of small earthy mounds, in the immedi- 
ate vicinity of which the trees and bushes are cut and 
barked in many places, while some of them are nearly 
cut down. This is a colony of beaver. In the warm 
months of summer and autumn, this spot is a lively, stir- 
ring place, as the beavers are then employed nihhling 
down trees and bushes, for the purpose of repairing their 
5 



66 HUDSON'S BAY. 

dams, and supplying their storehouses with food. The 
bark of willows is their chief food, and all the bushes in 
the vicinity are more or less cut through by these perse- 
vering little animals. Their dams, however, (which are 
made for the purpose of securing to themselves a con- 
stant sufficiency of water,) are made with large trees ; 
and stumps will be found, if you choose to look for them, 
as thick as a man's leg, which the beavers have entirely 
nibbled through, and dragged by their united efforts many 
yards from where they grew. 

Now, however, no sign of animal life is to be seen, as 
the beavers keep within doors all winter ; yet I venture 
to state that there are many now asleep under the snow 
before us. It is not, reader, merely for the purpose of 
showing you the outside of a beaver-lodge that I have 
brought you such a distance from human habitations. 
Be patient, and you shall soon see more. Do you observe 
that small black speck moving over the white surface of 
the lake, far away on the horizon ? It looks Hke a crow, 
but the forward motion is much too steady and constant 
for that. As it approaches, it assumes the form of a man, 
and at last the figure of Stemaw, dragging his empty 
sleigh behind him, (for he has left his wolf and foxes in 
the last night's encampment, to be taken up when return- 
ing home,) becomes clearly distinguishable through the 
dreamy haze of the cold wintry morning. He arrives at 
the beaver-lodges, and, I warrant, will soon play havoc 
among the inmates. 

His first proceeding is to cut down several stakes, which 
he points at the ends. These are driven, after he has cut 
away a good deal of ice from around the beaver-lodge, 
into the ground between it and the shore. This is to 
prevent the beaver from running along the passage they 



HUDSON'S BAY. 67 

always have from their lodges to the shore, where their 
storehouse is kept, which would make it necessary to ex- 
cavate the whole passage. The beaver, if there are any, 
being thus imprisoned in the lodge, the hunter next stakes 
up the opening into the storehouse on shore, and so im- 
prisons those that may have fled there for shelter, on hear- 
ing the noise of his axe at the other house. Things being 
thus arranged to his entire satisfaction, he takes an in- 
strument called an ice-chisel, which is a bit of steel about 
a foot long by one inch broad, fastened to the end of a 
stout pole, wherewith he proceeds to dig through the 
lodge. This is by no means an easy operation ; and, 
although he covers the snow around him with great quan- 
tities of frozen mud and sticks, yet his work is not half 
finished. At last, however, the interior of the hut is laid 
bare, and the Indian, stooping down, gives a great pull, 
when out comes a large, fat, sleepy beaver, which he 
flings sprawling on the snow. Being thus unceremoni- 
ously awakened from its winter nap, the shivering ani- 
mal looks languidly around, and even goes the length of 
grinning at Stemaw, by way of showing its teeth, for 
which it is rewarded with a blow on the head from the 
pole of the ice-chisel, which puts an end to it. In this 
way several more are killed, and packed on the sleigh. 
Stemaw then turns his face towards bis encampment, 
where he collects the game left there ; and away he goes 
at a tremendous pace, dashing the snow in clouds from 
his snow-shoes, as he hurries over the trackless wilder- 
ness to his forest home. 

Near his tent he makes a detour to visit a marten trap ; 
where, however he finds nothing. This trap is of the 
simplest construction, being composed of two logs, the 
one of which is supported over the other by means of a 



68 HUDSON'S BAY. 

small stick, in such a manner that when the marten 
creeps between the two and pulls the bait, the support 
is removed, and the upper log falls on and crushes it to 
death. 

In h^lf an hour the Indian arrives at liis tent, where 
the dark eyes of his wife are seen gazing through a chink 
in the covering, with an expression that denotes immense 
joy at the prospect of gorging for many days on fat bea- 
ver, and having wherewithal to purchase beads and a 
variety of ornaments from the white men, upon the occa- 
sion of her husband and herself visiting the posts of the 
fur traders in the following spring. 

I must crave the reader's pardon for this long digres- 
sion, and beg him to recollect, that at the end of the first 
chapter I left myself awaiting orders to depart for Red 
River, to which settlement we will now proceed. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 69 



CHAPTER V. 

TOYAGE FROM YORK FACTORY TO RED RIVER. 

SOMEWHERE about the beginning of September, 
]Mi'. Carles, Mr. and Mrs. Gowley, Mr. Rob, and my- 
self, set out with the Portage la Loche brigade, for the 
distant colony of Red River. The Portage la Loche 
brigade usually numbers six or seven boats, adapted for 
inland travelling where the navigation is obstructed by 
rapids, waterfalls, and cataracts, to surmount which, boats 
and cargo are carried overland by the crews. These car- 
rying places are called portages, and between York 
Factory and Red River there are upwards of thirty-six, 
of various lengths. Besides these, there are innumerable 
rapids, up which the boats have to be pushed inch by 
inch with poles, for miles together ; so that we had to 
look forward to a long and tedious voyage. 

The brigade with which we left York Factory usually 
leaves Red River about the end of May, and proceeds to 
Norway House, where it receives Athabasca and Macken- 
zie's River outfits. It then sets out for the interior, and 
upon arriving at Portage la Loche, the different boats 
land their cargoes, while the Mackenzie's River boats, 
which came to meet them, exchange their furs for the 
outfits. The brigade then begins to retrace its way, and 
returns to Norway House, whence it proceeds to York 
Factory, where it arrives about the commencement of 
September, lands the furs, and receives part of the Red 



70 HUDSON'S BAY. 

River outfit, with whicli it sets out for that place as soon 
as possible. 

With this brigade, then, we started from York Factory, 
with a cheering song from the men in full chorus. They 
were in good spirits, being about to finish the long voyage, 
and return to their families at Red River, after an absence 
of nearly five months, during which time they had encoun- 
tered and overcome difiiculties that would have cooled the 
most sanguine temperament ; but these hardy Canadians 
and half-breeds are accustomed to such voyages from the 
age of fifteen or sixteen, and think no more of them than 
Qther men dd of ordinary work. 

Mr. Carles and I travelled together in the guide's boat ; 
Mr. and Mrs. Gowley in another, and Mr. Rob in a third 
by himself. We took the lead, and the others followed as 
they best could. Such was the order of march in which 
we commenced the ascent of Hayes River. 

It may not be uninteresting here to describe the mate- 
riel of our voyage. 

Our boat, which was the counterpart of the rest, was 
long, broad, and shallow, capable of carrying forty hun- 
dred weight, and nine men, besides three or four passen- 
gers, with provisions for themselves and the crew. It did 
not, I suppose, draw more than three feet of water when 
loaded, perhaps less, and was, moreover, very light for its 
size. The cargo consisted of bales, being the goods in- 
tended for the Red River sale-room and trading-shop. A 
rude mast and tattered sail lay along the seats, ready for 
use, should a favorable breeze spring up ; but this seldom 
occurred, the oars being our chief dependence during the 
greater part of the voyage. 

The provisions of the men consisted of pemmican and 
flour ; while the passengers revelled in the enjoyment of a 



HUDSON'S BAY. 71 

ham, several cured buffalo-tongues, tea, sugar, butter, and 
biscuit, and a little brandy and wine, wherewith to warm 
us in cold weather, and to cheer the crew with a dram 
after a day of unusual exertion. All our provisions were 
snugly packed in a case and basket, made expressly for 
the purpose. 

Pemmican being a kind of food with w^hich people in the 
civilized world are not generally acquainted, I may as well 
describe it here. 

It is made by the buffalo hunters of the Red River, 
Swan River, and Saskatchewan prairies ; more particu- 
larly by those of Red River, where many of the colonists 
spend a great part of the year in pursuit of the buffalo. 
They make it thus : having shot a buffalo (or bison), they 
cut off lumps of his flesh, and slitting it up into flakes or 
layers, hang it up in the sun to dry. In this state it is 
often made up into packs and sent about the country to 
be consumed as dried meat ; but vfhen pemmican is w^anted, 
it has to go through another process. When dry the 
meat is pounded between two stones till it is broken into 
small pieces ; these are put into a bag made of the 
animal's hide, with the hair on the outside, and well 
mixed with melted grease ; the top of the bag is then 
sewn up, and the pemmican allowed to cool. In this state 
it may be eaten uncooked ; but the voyageurs, who subsist 
on it when travelling, mix it with a little flour and water, 
and then boil it ; in which state it is known throughout 
the country by the elegant name of robhihoo. Pemmican 
is good wholesome food, will keep fresh for a great length 
of time, and were it not for its unprepossessing a^^pear- 
ance, and a good many buffalo hairs mixed with it, through 
the carelessness of the hunters, would be very palatable. 
After a time, however, one becomes accustomed to those 
little peculiarities. 



72 HUDSON'S BAY. 

It was late in the afternoon when we left York Factory ; 
and after travelling a few miles up Hayes River, put 
ashore for the night. 

We 'encamped upon a rough gravelly piece of ground, 
as there was no better in the neighborhood ; so that my 
first night in the woods did not hold out the prospect of 
being a very agreeable one. The huge log fires, however, 
soon blazed cheerily up, casting a ruddy glow upon the 
surrounding fohage, and the wild uncouth figures of the 
voyageurs, who, with their long dark hair hanging in 
luxuriant masses over their bronzed faces, sat or reclined 
round the fires, smoking their pipes, and chatting with as 
much carelessness and good-humor as if the long and 
arduous journey before them never once entered their 
minds. The tents were pitched on the most -convenient 
spot we could find ; and when supper was spread out, and 
a candle lighted, (which, by the way, the strong blaze of 
our camp-fire rendered quite unnecessary,) and Mr. Carles, 
seating himself upon a pile of cloaks, blankets, and cush- 
ions, looked up with a broad grin on his cheerful, good- 
humored countenance, and called me to supper, I began 
to think, that if all travelling in Hudson's Bay were like 
this, a voyage of discovery to the North Pole would be a 
mere pleasure trip ! Alas ! in after years I found it was 
not always thus. 

Supper was soon disposed of, and having warmed our- 
selves at the fire, and ventured a few rash prophecies on 
the probable weather of the morrow, we spread our 
blankets over an oiled cloth, and lay lovingly down to- 
gether ; Mr. Carles to snore vociferously, and I to dream 
of home. 

At the first blush of day T was awakened by the loud 
halloo of the guide, who, with the voice of a Stentor, gave 



HUDSON'S BAY. 73 

vent to a ^^ Level level level" that roused the whole 
camp in less than two minutes. Five minutes more suf- 
ficed to finish our toilet (for, be it known, Mr. Carles and 
I had only taken off our coats), tie up our blankets, and 
embark. In ten minutes we were once more pulhng 
slowly up the current of Hayes River. 

The missionaries turned out to be capital travellers, 
and never delayed the boats a moment ; which is saying 
a good deal for them, considering the short space of time 
allowed for dressing. As for the hardy voyageurs, they 
slept in the same clothes in which they had wrought dur- 
ing the day, each with a single blanket round him, in the 
most convenient spot he could find. A few slept in pairs, 
but all reposed under the wide canopy of heaven. 

Early morning is always the most disagreeable part of 
the traveller's day. The cold dews of the past night ren- 
der the air chilly, and the gloom of departing night tends 
greatly to depress the spirits. As I became acquainted 
with this mode of travelhno-, I became more knowinor ; 
and, when there was not much probability of being inter- 
rupted by portages, I used to spread out my blanket in the 
stern of the boat, and snooze till breakfast-time. The 
hour for breakfast used to vary, according as we arrived 
late or early at an eligible spot. It was seldom earlier 
than seven, or later than nine o'clock. 

Upon the occasion of our first breakfast in the woods, we 
were fortunate. The sun shone brightly on the surround- 
ing trees and bushes ; the fires blazed and crackled ; pots 
boiled, and cooks worked busily on a green spot, at the 
side of a small bay or creek, in which the boats quietly 
floated, scarce rippling the surface of* the limpid water. 
A little apart from the men, two white napkins marked 
our breakfast-place, and the busy appearance of our ^ook 



74 HUDSON'S BAY. 

gave hopes that our fast was nearly over. The whole 
scene was indescribably romantic and picturesque, and 
worthy of delineation by a more experienced pencil than 
mine. Breakfast was a repetition of the supper of the 
preceding night ; the only difference being, that we ate it 
by daylight, in the open air, instead of by candlelight, 
under the folds of our canvas tent. After it was over, 
we again embarked, and proceeded on our way. 

The men used to row for a space of time, denominated 
a pipe, so called from the circumstance of their taking a 
smoke at the end of it. Each spell lasted for nearly two 
hours, during which time they rowed without intermis- 
sion. The smoke usually occupied five or ten minutes, 
after which they pulled again for two hours more, and so 
on. While travelling in boats, it is only allowable to put 
ashore for breakfast ; so, about noon, we had a cold din- 
ner in the boat ; and, with appetites sharpened by ex- 
posure to the fresh air, we enjoyed it pretty well. 

In a couple of days we branched off into Steel River, 
and began its ascent. The current here was more rapid 
than in Hayes River ; so rapid, indeed, that, our oars 
being useless, we were obliged to send the men ashore 
with the tracking-line. Tracking, as it is called, is dread- 
fully harassing work. Half of the crew go ashore, and 
drag the boat slowly along, while the other half go to 
sleep. After an hour's walk, the others then take their 
turn ; and so on, alternately, during the whole day. 

The banks of the river were high, and very precipi- 
tous ; so that the poor fellows had to scramble along, 
sometimes close to the water's edge, and sometimes high 
up the bank, on ledges so narrow that they could scarcely 
find a footing, and where they looked like flies on a wall. 
The, banks, too, being composed of blay or mud, were 



HUDSON'S BAY. 75 

very soft, rendering the work disagreeable and tiresome ; 
but the light-hearted voyageurs seemed to be quite in 
their element, and laughed and joked while they toiled 
along, playing tricks with each other, and plunging oc- 
casionally up to the middle in mud, or to the neck in 
water, with as much nonchalance as if they were jump- 
ing into bed. 

On the fifth day after leaving York Factory, we ar- 
rived at the Rock Portage. This is the first on the 
route, and it is a very short one. A perpendicular water- 
fall, eight or ten feet high, forms an effectual barrier to 
the upward progress of the boats by water ; so that the 
only way to overcome the difficulty is to carry everything 
across the flat rock, from which the portage derives its 
name, and reload at the upper end. 

Upon arriving, a novel and animating scene took place. 
Some of the men, jumping ashore, ran briskly to and fro 
with enormous burdens on their backs ; whilst others 
hauled and pulled the heavy boats slowly up the cataract, 
h^looing and shouting all the time, as if they wished to 
drown the thundering noise of the water, which boiled 
and hissed furiously around the rocks on which we stood. 
In about an hour our boat, and one or two others, had 
passed the falls ; and we proceeded merrily on our way, 
with spirits elevated in proportion to the elevation of our 
bodies. 

It was here that I killed my first duck ; and well do 
I remember the feeling of pride with which I con- 
templated the achievement. That I had shot her sit- 
ting about five yards from the muzzle of my gun, which 
was loaded with an enormous charge of shot, is undeni- 
able ; but this did not lessen my exultation a whit. 
The sparrows I used to kill in days of yore, with in- 



76 HUDSON'S BAY. 

expressible delight, grew "small by degrees" and comi- 
cally less, before the plump inhabitant of the marshes, 
till they dwindled into nothing ; and the joy and fuss with 
which I hailed the destruction of the unfortunate bird 
can only be compared to, and equalled by the crowing 
and flurry with which a hen is accustomed to announce 
the production of her first egg. 

During the voyage, we often disturbed large flocks of 
geese, and sometimes shot a few. When we chanced to 
come within sight of them before they saw us, "the boats 
all put ashore ; and L'Esperance, our guide, went round 
through the bushes, to the place were they were, and 
seldom failed in rendering at least one of the flock hors 
de combat. At first I would as soon have volunteered 
to shoot a lion in Africa, with a Bushman beside me, 
as have pr^umed to attempt to kill geese while L'Espe- 
rance was present — so poor an opinion had I of my skill 
as a marksman ; but, as I became more accustomed to 
seeing them killed, I w^axed bolder ; and at last, one day, 
having come in sight of a flock, I begged to be allowed 
to try my hand. The request was granted ; L'Espe- 
rance lent me his gun, and away I went cautiously 
through the bushes. After a short walk, I came close 
to where they were swimming about in the water ; and 
cocking my gun, I rushed furiously down the bank, 
breaking everything before me, and tumbling over half- 
a-dozen fallen trees in my haste, till I cleared the bushes ; 
and then, scarcely taking time to raise the gun to my 
shoulder, banged right into the middle of the flock, just 
as they were taking wing. All rose ; but they had not 
gone far when one began to waver a little, and finally 
sat down in the water again — a sure sign of being 
badly wounded. Before the boats came up, however, 



HUDSON'S BAY. 77 

he had swum to the opposite bank, and hid himself 
among the bushes ; sO that, much to my disappointment, 
I had not the pfbasure of handhng this new trophy of 
my prowess. 

Upon one occasion, while sauntering along the banks 
of the river in search of ducks and geese, while the 
boats were slowly ascending against the strong current, 
I happened to cast my eyes across the stream, and there, 
to my amazement, beheld a large black bear bounding 
over the rocks with the ease and agility of a cat. He 
was not within shot, however, and I was obliged to con- 
tent myself with seeing him run before me for a quarter 
of a mile, and then turn off into the forest. 

This w^as truly the happiest time I ever spent in the 
Nor'west. Everything was full of novelty and excite- 
ment. Rapid succeeded rapid, and portage followed port- 
age, in endless succession — giving me abundance of op- 
portunities to range about in search of ducks and geese, 
which were very numerous, while the men were drag- 
ging the boats, and carrying the goods over the port- 
ages. The weather was beautiful, and it was just the 
season of the year when the slight frost in the morn- 
ings and evenings renders the blazing camp-fire agree- 
able, and destroys those little wretches, the mosquitos. 
My friend Mr. Carles was a kind and indulgent com- 
pahion, bearing good-naturedly with my boyish pranks, 
and cautioning me, of course ineffectually, against run- 
ning into danger. I had just left home and the restraint 
of school, and was now entering upon a wild and ro- 
mantic career. In short, everything combined to render 
this a most agreeable and interesting voyage. I have 
spent many a day of amusement and excitement in the 
country, but on none can I look back with so much 



78 HUDSON'S BAY. 

pleasure as on the time spent in this journey to Red 
River. 

The scenery through which we passfd was pretty and 
romantic, but there was nothing grand about it. The 
country generally was low and swampy ; the highest 
ground being the banks of the river, which sometimes 
rose to from sixty to seventy feet. Our progress in 
Hill River was slow and tedious, owing to the number 
of rapids encountered on the way. The hill from which 
the river derives its name is a small insignificant mound, 
and owes its importance to the flatness of the surround- 
ing country. 

Besides the larger wild-fowl, small birds of many kinds 
were very numerous. The most curious, and at the same 
time the most impudent, among the latter, were the 
whisky-jacks ; they always hovered round us at breakfast, 
ready to snap up anything that came within their reach, 
advancing sometimes to within a yard or two of our feet, 
and looking at us with a very comical expression of coun- 
tenance. One of the men told me that he had often 
caught them in his hand, with a piece of pemmican for a 
bait ; so, one morning after breakfast, I went a little to 
one side of our camp, and covering my face with leaves, 
extended my hand with a few crumbs in the open palm. 
In five minutes a whisky-jack jumped upon a branch over 
my head, and after reconnoitring a minute or so, lit upon 
my hand, and began to breakfast forthwith. You may be 
sure the trap was not long in going off; and the screech- 
ing that Mr. Jack set up, on finding my fingers firmly 
closed upon his toes was tremendous. I never saw a 
more passionate little creature in my life ; it screamed, 
struggled, and bit unceasingly, until I let it go ; and even 
then, it lighted on a tree close by, and looked at me as 



HUDSON'S BAY. 79 

impudently as ever. The same day I observed that 
when the men were ashore, the whisky-jacks used to eat 
out of the pemmican bags left in the boats ; so I lay down 
close to one, under cover of a buffalo-skin, and in three 
minutes had made prisoner of another of these little in- 
habitants of the forest. They are of a bluish-gray color, 
and nearly the size of a blackbird, but they are such a 
bundle of feathers, that when plucked they do not look' 
much larger than a sparrow. They live apparently on 
animal food (at least, they are very fond of it), and are 
not considered very agreeable eating. 

We advanced very slowly up Hill River. Sometimes, 
after a day of the most toilsome exertions, during which 
the men were constantly pushing the boats up long rapids, 
with poles, at a very slow pace, we found ourselves only 
four or five miles ahead of the last night's encampment. 
As we ascended higher up the country, however, travelling 
became more easy. Sometimes small lakes and tranquil 
rivers allowed us to use the oars, and even the sails, when 
a puff of fair wind arose. Occasionally, we were sweep- 
ing rapidly across the placid water ; anon buffeting with, 
and advancing against, the foaming current of a power- 
ful river, whose raging torrent seemed to bid defiance to 
our further progress ; now dragging boats and cargoes 
over rocks, and through the deep shades of the forest, 
when a waterfall checked us on our way ; and again 
dashing across a lake, with favoring breeze, and some- 
times, though rarely, were windbound on a small islet, 
or point of land. 

Our progress was slow, but full of interest, novelty, 
and amusement. My fellow-travellers seemed to enjoy 
the voyage very much, and even Mrs. Gowley, to whom 
hardships were new, liked it exceedingly. 



80 HUDSON'S BAY. 

On our way we passed Oxford House, a small outpost 
of York Factory district. It is built on the brow of a 
grassy hill, w^hich rises gradually from the margin of 
Oxford Lake. Like most of the posts in the country, it 
is composed of a collection of wooden houses, built in the 
form of a square, and surrounded by tall stockades, 
pointed at the tops. These, however, are more for orna- 
ment than defence. A small flag-staff towers above the 
buildings, from which, upon the occasion of an arrival, a 
little red Hudson's Bay Company's flag waves its folds 
in the gentle current of an evening breeze. There were 
only two or three men at the place ; and not a human 
being, save one or two wandering Lidians, was to be 
found within hundreds of miles of this desolate spot. 

After a stay here of about half an hour, we proceeded 
on our way. 

Few things are more beautiful or delightful than cross- 
ing a lake in the woods, on a lovely morning at sunrise. 
The brilliant sun, rising in a flood of light, pierces through 
the thin haze of morning, converting the countless myriads 
of dew-drops that hang on tree and bush into sparkling 
diamonds, and burnishing the motionless flood of water, 
till a new and mighty firmament is reflected in the wave — 
as if Nature, rising early from her couch, paused to gaze 
with admiration on her resplendent . image, reflected in 
the depths of her own matchless mirror. The profound 
stillness, too, broken only by the measured sweep of the 
oars, fills the soul with awe ; whilst a tranquil but un- 
bounded happiness steals over the heart of the traveller, 
as he gazes out upon the distant horizon, broken here and 
there by small, verdant islets, floating as it were in air. 
He wanders back, in thought, to far distant climes, or 
wishes, mayhap, that it were possible to dwell in scenes 
like this with those he loves forever. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 81 

As the day advances, the scene, though slightly 
changed, is still most beautiful. The increasing heat, 
dispelHng the mists, reveals, in all its beauty, the deep 
blue sky speckled with thin fleecy clouds ; and imparting 
a genial warmth to the body, creates a sympathetic glow 
in the soul. Flocks of snow-white gulls sail in graceful 
evolutions round the boats, dipping lightly in the water 
as if to kiss their reflected images, and, rising suddenly 
in long rapid flights, mount in circles up high above the 
tranquil world into the azure sky, till small white specks 
alone are visible in the distance. Up, up they rise, on 
sportive wing, till the straining eye can no longer distin- 
guish them, and they are gone ! 

Ducks, too, whirr past in rapid flight, steering wide of 
the boats, and again bending in long, graceful curves into 
their course. The sweet, plaintive cry of the whippoor- 
will rings along the shore, and the faint answer of his 
mate floats over the lake, mellowed by distance to a long, 
tiny note. The air is motionless as the water, and the 
enraptured eye gazes in dreamy enjoyment on all that is 
lovely and peaceful in nature. 

These are the pleasures of travelling in the wilderness. 
Let us change the picture. 

The sun no longer shines upon the tranquil scene. 
Dark, heavy clouds obscure the sky ; a suffocating heat 
depresses the spirits and enervates the frame ; sharp, 
short gusts of wind now ruflle the inky waters, and the 
floating islands sink into insignificance, as the deceptive 
haze which elevated them flies before the approaching 
storm. The ducks are gone and the plaintive notes of 
the whippoorwill are hushed as the increasing breeze 
rustles the leafy drapery of the forest. The gulls wheel 
round still, but in more rapid and uncertain flight, accom- 
6 



82 HUDSON'S BAY. 

panying their motions with shrill and mournful cries, like 
the dismal wailings of the spirit of the storm. A few 
drops of rain patter on the boats, or plump like stones 
into the water, and the distant melancholy growl of thun- 
der swells upon the coming gale. Uneasy glances are 
cast, ever and anon, towards clouds and shore, and grum- 
bling sentences are uttered by the men. Suddenly a 
hissing sound is heard, a loud clap of thunder growls 
overhead, and the gale, dashing the white spray wildly 
before it, rushes down upon the boats. 

"^ terre! a terreT' shout the men. The boats are 
turned towards the shore, and the bending oars creak and 
groan as they pull swiftly on. Hiss ! whirr ! the gale 
bursts forth, dashing clouds of spray into the air ; twist- 
ing and curhng the foaming water in its fury. The thun- 
der crashes with fearful noise, and the lightning gleams 
in fitful lurid streaks across the inky sky. Presently the 
shore is gained, amid a deluge of rain which saturates 
everything with water in a few minutes. The tents are 
pitched, but the fires will scarcely burn, and are at last 
allowed to go out. The men seek shelter under the oiled 
cloths of the boats ; .while the travellers, rolled up in 
damp blankets, with the rain oozing through the tents 
upon their couches, gaze mournfully upon the dismal 
scene, and ponder sadly on the shortness of the step 
between happiness and misery. 

Nearly eighteen days after we left York Factory, we 
arrived in safety at the depot of Norway House. 

This fort is built at the mouth of a small and sluggish 
stream, known by the name of Jack River. The houses 
are ranged in the form of a square ; none of them exceed 
one story in height, and most of them are whitewashed. 
The ground on which it stands is rocky, and a small gar- 



HUDSO^'•S BAY. 83 

den, composed cliiefly of sand, juts out from the stockades 
like a strange excrescence. A large, rugged mass of 
rocks rises up between the fort and Playgreen Lake, 
which stretches out to the horizon on the other side of 
them. On the top of these rocks stands a flagstaff, as a 
beacon to guide the traveller ; for Norway House is so 
ingeniously hid in a hollow that it cannot be seen fixnn 
the lake till the boat almost touches the wharf. 

On the left side of the building extends a flat, gi^assy 
park, or green, upon which, during the summer months, 
there is often a picturesque and interesting scene. Spread 
out to dry in the sun, may be seen the snowy tent of the 
chief factor, lately aiTived ; a httle further off, on the ris- 
ing ground, stands a dark and almost imperceptible wig- 
wam, the small wreath of white smoke issuing from the 
top proving that it is inhabited ; on the river bank, three 
or four boats and a north canoe are hauled up ; and just 
above them a number of sunburnt voyageurs and a few 
Indians amuse themselves with various games, or recline 
upon the grass, baskmg in the sunshine. 

Behind the fort stretches the thick forest, its outline 
broken here and there by cuttings of fii-ewood or small 
clearings for farmino-. 

Such was Norway House in 1841. The rocks were 
crowded when we arrived, and we received a hearty 
welcome from Mr. Russ (the chief factor in charge) and 
his amiable family. As it was too late to proceed any 
further that day, we determined to remain here all night. 

From the rocks before mentioned, on which the flag- 
staff stands, we had a fine view of Playgreen Lake, 
There was nothing striking or bold in the scene, the 
country being low and swampy, and no liills rose on the 
horizon, or cast theii' shadows on the lake ; but it was 



84 HUDSON'S BAY. 

pleasing and tranquil, and enlivened by one or two boats 
sailing about on the water. 

We spent an agreeable evening, and early on the fol- 
lowing morning started again on our journey, having re- 
ceived an agreeable addition to our party in the person 
of Miss Jessie Russ, second daughter of Mr. Russ, from 
whom we had just parted. 

On the evening of the first day after our departure 
from Norway House, we encamped on the shores of Lake 
"Winnipeg. This immense body of fresh water is about 
thre^ hundred miles long by about fifty broad. The 
shores are generally flat and uninteresting, and the water 
shallow ; yet here and there a few pretty spots may be 
seen at the head of a small bay or inlet, where the ground 
is a little more elevated and fertile. 

Nothing particular occurred during our voyage along 
the shores of the lake, except that we hoisted our sails 
ofteuer to a favorable breeze, and had a good deal more 
night travelling than heretofore. In about five days after 
leaving Norway House, we arrived at the mouth of Red 
River ; and a very swampy, sedgy, flat-looking mouth it 
was, covered with tall bulrushes, and swarming with 
water-fowl. The banks, too, were low and swampy ; but, 
as we ascended, they gradually became more woody and 
elevated, till we arrived at the Stone Fort — twenty miles 
up the river — where they were tolerably high. 

A few miles below this we passed an Indian settlement, 
the cultivated fields and white houses of which, with the 
church spire in the midst, quite refreshed our eyes, after 
being so long accustomed to the shades of the primeval 
forest. 

The Stone Fort is a substantial fortification, surrounded 
by high walls and flanked with bastions, and has a fine 
appearance from the river. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 85 

Here my friend and fellow-traveller, Mr. Carles, hear- 
ing of his wife's illness, left us, and proceeded up the 
settlement on horseback. The missionaries also disem- 
barked, and I was left alone to be rowed slowly to Fort 
Garry, nearly twenty miles further up the river. 

The river banks were lined all the way along with the 
houses and farms of the colonists, which had a thriving, 
cleanly appearance ; and, from the quantity of live stock 
in the farm-yards, the number of pigs along the banks, 
and the healthy appearance of the children who ran out 
of the cottages to gaze upon us as we passed, I inferred 
that the settlers generally were well to do in the world. 

The houses of some of the more wealthy inhabitants 
were very handsome-looking buildings, particularly that 
of Mr. M'Allum, where, in a few hours, I landed. This 
gentleman was the superintendent of the Red River 
Academy, where the children of the wealthier colonists, 
and those of the gentlemen belonging to the Hudson's 
Bay Company, are instructed in the various branches of 
English literature, and made to comprehend how the 
world was convulsed in days of yore by the mighty deeds 
of the heroes of ancient Greece and Rome. 

Here I was hospitably treated to an excellent breakfast, 
and then proceeded on foot with Mr. Carles (who rejoined 
me here) to Fort Garry, which lay about two miles distant. 
Upon arriving, I was introduced to Mr. Finlayson, the 
chief factor in charge, who received me very kindly, and 
introduced me to my fellow-clerks in the office. Thus 
terminated my first inland journey. 



86 HUDSON'S BAY. 



CHAPTER VI. 

RED RIVER SETTLEMENT. 

KED RIVER settlement is, to use a high-flown ex- 
pression, an oasis in the desert ; and may be likened 
to a spot upon the moon, or a solitary ship upon the 
ocean. In plain English, it is an isolated settlement 
on the borders of one of the vast prairies of North 
America. 

It is situated partly on the banks of Red River, and 
partly on the banks of a smaller stream called the Assi- 
naboine, in latitude 50°, and extends upwards of fifty 
miles along the banks of these two streams. 

The country around it is a vast treeless prairie, upon 
which scarcely a shrub is to be seen ; but a thick coat of 
grass covers it throughout its entire extent, with the 
exception of a few spots, where the hollowness of the 
ground has collected a little moisture, or the meandering 
of some small stream or rivulet enriches the soil, and 
covers its banks with verdant shrubs and trees. 

The banks of the Red and Assinaboine Rivers are cov- 
ered with a thick belt of woodland, which does not, how- 
ever, extend far back into the plains. It is composed of 
oak, poplar, willows, &c., the first of which is much used 
for firewood by the settlers. The larger timber in the 
adjacent woods is thus being rapidly thinned, and, ere 
long, the inhabitants will have to raft their firewood down 
the rivers from a considerable distance. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 87 

The settlers are a mixture of French Canadians, 
Scotchmen, and Indians. The first of these occupy the 
upper part of the settlement ; the second live near the 
middle ; and the Indians inhabit a village at its lower 
extremity. 

There are four Protestant churches : the upper, mid- 
dle, and lower churches, and one at the Indian settlement. 
There are also two Roman Catholic chapels, some priests, 
and a Roman Catholic bishop, resident in the colony, be- 
sides one or two schools ; the principal being, as before 
mentioned, under the superintendence of Mr. M'Allum, 
who has since been ordained by the Bishop of Montreal, 
during that prelate's visit to Red River. 

For the preservation of the peace, and the punishment 
of evil-doers, a Recorder and body of magistrates are 
provided, who assemble every quarter at Fort Garry, 
the seat of the court-house, for the purpose of redressing 
WTongs, punishing crimes, giving good advice, and eating 
an excellent dinner at the Company's table. There was 
once, also, a body of policemen ; but, strange to say, they 
were chosen from among the most turbulent of the 
settlers, and were never expected to be on duty except 
when a riot took place ; the policemen themselves gener- 
ally being the ringleaders on those occasions, it may be 
supposed they did not materially assist in quelling dis- 
turbances. 

The Scotch and Indian settlers cultivate wheat, barley, 
and Indian corn in abundance, for which the only market 
is that afforded by the Company, the more wealthy set- 
tlers, and retired chief factors. This market, however, 
is a poor one, and in years of plenty the settlers find it 
difficult to dispose of their surplus produce. Wild fruits 
of various descriptions are abundant, and the gardens 



88 HUDSON'S BAY. 

are well stocked with vegetables. The settlers have 
plenty of sheep, pigs, poultry, and horned cattle; and 
there is scarcely a man in the place who does not drive 
to church on Sundays in his own cariole. 

Red River is a populous settlement ; the census taken 
in 1843 proved it to contain upwards of 5000 souls, and 
since then it has been rapidly increasing. 

There is a paper currency in the settlement, which 
obviates the necessity of having coin afloat. English 
pence and half-pence, however, are plentiful. The lowest 
paper note is one shilling sterling, the next five shillings, 
and the highest twenty shillings. The Canadian settlers 
and half-breeds are employed, during the greater part of 
the year, in travelling with the Company's boat, and in 
bufiklo hunting. The Scotch settlers are chiefly farmers, 
tradesmen, and merchants. 

The rivers, which are crossed in wooden canoes, in the 
absence of bridges, are well stocked with fish, the princi- 
pal kinds being goldeyes, sturgeon, and catfish. Of these 
I think the goldeyes the best, at any rate they are the 
most numerous. The wild animals inhabiting the woods 
and prairies are much the same as in the other parts of 
North America, viz : wolves, foxes, brown and black 
bears, martens, minx, musquash, rabbits, &c. ; while the 
woods are filled with game, the marshes and ponds 
with ducks, geese, swans, cranes, and a host of other 
water-fowl. 

Red River was first settled upon by the fur traders, 
who established a trading post many years ago on its 
banks ; but it did not assume the character of a colony 
till 1811, when Lord Selkirk sent out a number of emi- 
grants to form a settlement in the wild regions of the 
Northwest. Norwegians, Danes, Scotch, and Irish, 



HUDSON'S BAY. 89 

composed the motley crew ; but the great bulk of the col- 
onists then, as at the present time, consisted of Scotchmen 
and Canadians. Unlike other settlements in a wild 
country inhabited by Indians, the infant colony had few 
diflBculties to contend with at the outset. The Indians 
were friendly, and had been accustomed to white men 
from their previous contact, for many years, with the 
servants of the Hudson's Bay Company ; so, with the 
exception of one or two broils among themselves and 
other fur traders, the colonists plodded peacefully along. 
On one occasion, however, the Hudson's Bay Company 
and the Northwest Company, who were long at enmity 
with each other, had a sharp skirmish, in which Mr. 
Semple, then Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, 
was killed, and a number of his men were killed and 
wounded. 

The whole affair originated very foohshly. A body of 
men had been observed from the walls of Fort Garry, 
travelling past the fort, and as Governor Semple wished 
to ascertain their intentions, he sallied forth with a few 
men to intercept them, and demand their object. The 
Northwest party, on seeing a body of men coming tow- 
ards them from the fort, halted till they came up ; and 
Cuthbert Grant, who was in command, asked what they 
wanted. Governor Semple required to know where they 
were going ; being answered in a surly manner, an alter- 
cation took place between the two parties (of which the 
Northwest was the stronger), in the middle of which a 
shot was unfortunately fired by one of the Hudson's Bay 
party. It was never known who fired this shot, and 
many believe that it was discharged accidentally ; at any 
rate, no one was injured by it. The moment the report 
was heard, a volley was fired by the Northwesters upon 



90 HUDSON'S BAY. 

the Hudson's Bay party, which killed a few, and wounded 
many ; among the latter was Governor Semple. Cuth- 
bert Grant did his utmost to keep back the fierce half- 
castes under his command, but without avail ; and at last, 
seeing that this was impossible, he stood over the wounded 
Semple, and endeavored to defend him. In this he suc- 
ceeded for some time, but a shot from behind at last took 
effect in the unfortunate Governor's body, and killed him. 
After this, the remainder of his party fled to the fort, and 
the victorious half-breeds pursued their way. 

During the time that these two companies opposed each 
other, the country was in a state of constant turmoil and 
excitement. Personal conflicts with fists between the 
men — and, not unfrequently, the gentlemen — of the op- 
posing parties were of the commonest occurrence, and 
frequently more deadly weapons were resorted to. Spirits 
were distributed among the wretched natives to a dreadful 
extent, and the scenes that sometimes ensued were dis- 
gusting in the extreme. Amid all this, however, strata- 
gem was more frequently resorted to than open violence 
by the two companies, in their endeavors to prevent each 
other from procuring furs from the Indians. Men were 
constantly kept on the look-out for parties of natives re- 
turning from hunting expeditions ; and those who could 
arrive first at the encampment always carried off the furs. 
The Indians did not care which company got them ; 
" first come, first served," was the order of the day ; and 
both were equally welcome, provided they brought plenty 
oi fire water. 

Although the individuals of the two companies were 
thus almost always at enmity at the forts, strange to say, 
they often acted in the most friendly manner to each 
other, and (except when furs were in question) more 



HUDSON'S BAY. 91 

agreeable or friendly neighbors seldom came together 
than the Hudson's Bay and Northwest Companies, when 
they planted their forts (which they often did) within 
two hundred yards of each other, in the wilds of North 
America. The clerks and laborers of the opposing es- 
tablishments constantly visited each other ; and during 
the Christmas and New- Year's holidays, parties and balls 
were given without number. Dances, however, were not 
confined entirely to the holidays ; but whenever one was 
given at an unusual time, it was generally for the purpose 
of drawing the attention of the entertained party from 
some movement of their entertainers. 

Thus, upon one occasion the Hudson's Bay Company's 
look-out reported that he had discovered the tracks of In- 
dians in the snow, and that he thought they had just 
returned from a hunting expedition. No sooner was this 
heard than a grand ball was given to the Northwest 
Company. Great preparations were made ; the men, 
dressed in their newest capotes and gaudiest hat-cords, 
visited each other, and nothing was thought of or talked 
of but the ball. The evening came, and with it the 
guests ; and soon might be heard within the fort sounds 
of merriment and revelry, as they danced, in lively meas- 
ures, to a Scottish reel, played by some native fiddler 
upon a violin of his own construction. Without the gates, 
however, a very different scene met the eye. Down in 
a hollow, where the lofty trees and dense underwood 
threw a shadow on the ground, a knot of men might be 
seen, muffled in their leathern coats and fur caps, hurry- 
ing to and fro with bundles on their backs and snow-shoes 
under their arms ; packing and tying them firmly on 
trains of dog-sledges, which stood, with the dogs ready 
harnessed, in the shadow of the bushes. The men whis- 



92 HUDSON'S BAY. 

pered eagerly and hurriedly to each other, as they packed 
their goods, while others held the dogs, and patted them 
to keep them quiet ; evidently showing, that whatever 
was their object, expedition and secrecy were necessary. 
Soon all was in readiness : the bells, which usually 
tinkled on the dogs' necks, were unhooked and packed in 
the sledges — an active-looking man sprang forward and 
set off at a round trot over the snow, and a single crack 
of the whip sent four sledges, each with a train of four 
or five dogs after him, while two other men brought up 
the rear. For a time the muffled sound of the sledges 
was heard as they slid over the snow, while now and then 
the whine of a dog broke upon the ear, as the impatient 
drivers urged them along. Gradually these sounds died 
away, and nothing was heard but the faint echoes of 
music and mirth, which floated on the frosty night-wind, 
giving token that the revellers still kept up the dance, 
and were ignorant of the departure of the trains. 

Late on the following day the Nor'west scouts re- 
ported the party of Indians, and soon a set of sleighs 
departed from the fort with loudly ringing bells. After 
a long day's march of forty miles, they reached the en- 
campment, where they found all the Indians dead drunk, 
and not a skin, not even the remnant of a musquash, left 
to repay them for their trouble ! Then it was that they 
discovered the ruse of the ball, and vowed to have their 
revenge. 

Opportunity was not long wanting. Soon after this 
occurrence one of their parties met a Hudson's Bay train 
on its way to trade with the Indians, of whom they also 
were in search. They exchanged compliments with each 
other ; and as the day was very cold, proposed lighting a 
fire and taking a dram together. Soon five or six goodly 



HUDSON'S BAY. 93 

trees yielded to their vigorous blows, and fell crasliing to 
the ground ; and in a few minutes one of the party, light- 
ing a sulphur match with his flint and steel, set fire to a 
huge pile of logs, which crackled and burned furiously, 
sending up clouds of sparks into the wintry sky, and 
casting a warm tinge upon the snow and the surrounding 
trees. The canteen was quickly produced, and they told 
their stories and adventures, while the liquor mounted to 
their brains. The Nor'westers, however, after a little 
time, spilled their grog on the snow, unperceived by the 
others, so that they kept tolerably sober, while their 
rivals became very much elevated ; and at last they be- 
gan boasting of their superior powers of drinking, and, 
as a proof, each of them swallowed a large bumper. 
The Hudson's Bay party, who were nearly dead drunk 
by this time, of course followed their example, and al- 
most instantly fell in a heavy sleep on the snow. In ten 
minutes more they were tied firmly upon their sledges, 
and the dogs being turned homewards, away they went 
straight for the Hudson's Bay Fort, where they soon 
after arrived, the men still sound asleep ; while the Nor'- 
westers started for the Indian camp, and, this time at 
least, had the furs all to themselves. 

Such were the scenes that took place thirty years ago 
in the northern wildernesses of America. Since then, 
the two companies have joined, retaining the name of 
the richer and more powerful of the two — the " Hud- 
son's Bay Company." Spirits were still imported after 
the junction ; but of late years they have been dispensed 
with throughout the country, except at the colony of Red 
River, and the few posts where opposition is carried on 
by the American fur companies ; so that now the poor 
savage no longer grovels in the dust of his native wilder- 



94 HUDSON'S BAY. 

ness under the influence of the white man's fire water ; 
and the stranger who travels through those wild romantic 
regions no longer beholds the humiliating scenes, or hears 
of the frightful crimes, which were seen and heard of too 
often in former days, and which always have been, and 
always must be prevalent wherever spiritous liquors, the 
great curse of mankind, are plentiful, and particularly 
where, as in that country, the wild inhabitants fear no 
laws, human or divine. 

In the year 1826, Red River overflowed its banks and 
flooded the whole settlement, obliging the settlers to for- 
sake their houses, and drive their horses and cattle to 
the trifling eminences in the immediate vicinity. These 
eminences were few and very small, so that during the 
flood they presented a curious appearance, being crowded 
with men, w^omen, and children, horses, cattle, sheep, and 
poultry. The houses, being made of wood, and only built 
on the ground, not sunk into it, were carried away by 
dozens,* and great numbers of horses and cattle were 
drowned. During the time it lasted, the settlers sailed 
and paddled among their houses in boats and canoes ; and 
they now point out among the waving grass and verdant 
bushes, the spot where they dwelt in their tents, or pad- 
dled about the deep waters in their canoes, in the " year 
of the flood." This way of speaking has a strangely 
antediluvian sound. The hale, middle-aged colonist will 
tell you, with a ludicrously grave countenance, that his 
house stood on such a spot, or such and such an event 
happened, " a year before the flood '^ 

Fort Garry, the principal establishment of the Hud- 
son's Bay Company, stands on the banks of the Assina- 
boine River, about two hundred yards from its junction 
with Red River. It is a square stone building, with bas- 



HUDSON'S BAY. 95 

tions pierced for cannon at the corners. The principal 
dwelling-houses, stores, and offices^are built within the 
walls, and the stables at a small distance from the fort. ^ 
The situation is pretty and quiet ; but the surrounding 
country is too flat for the lover of the grand and pic- 
turesque. Just in front of the gate runs, or rather glides, 
the peaceful Assinaboine, where, on a fine day in autumn, 
may be seen thousands of goldeyes playing in its hmpid 
waters. 

On the left extends the woodland fringing the river, 
with here and there a clump of smaller trees and willows 
surrounding the swamps formed by the melting snows of 
spring, where flocks of wild-ducks and noisy plover give 
animation to the scene, while through the openings in the 
forest, are seen glimpses of the rolling prairie. Down in 
the hollow, where the stables stand, are always to be seen 
a few horses and cows, feeding or lazily chewing their cud 
in the rich pasturage, giving an air of repose to the scene, 
which contrasts forcibly with the view of the wide plains 
that roll out like a vast green sea from the back of the 
fort, studded here and there with little islets and hillocks, 
around which may be seen hovering a watchful hawk or 
solitary raven. 

The climate of Red River is salubrious and agreeable. 
Winter commences about the month of November, and 
spring generally begins in April. Although the winter is 
very long and extremely cold (the thermometer usually 
varying between ten and thirty degrees below zero), yet, 
from its being always dry frost, it is much more agreeable 
than people accustomed to the damp thawy weather of 
Great Britain might suppose. 

Winter is here the livehest season of the year. It is 
tlien that the wild, demi-sav age colonist leads the blushing 



96 HUDSON'S BAY. 

half-breed girl to the altar, and the country about his 
house rings with the music of the sleigh bells as his 
friends assemble to congratulate the happy pair, and 
dance for three successive days. It is at this season the 
hardy voyageurs rest from their toils, and, circling round 
the blazing fire, recount many a tale of danger, and paint 
many a wild romantic scene of their long and tedious 
voyages among the lakes and rapids of the interior ; while 
their wives and children gaze with breathless interest 
upon their swarthy, sunburnt faces, lighted up with ani- 
mation as they recall the scenes of other days, or, with 
low and solemn voice, relate the death of a friend and fel- 
low voyageur who perished among the foaming cataracts 
of the wilderness. 

During the summer months there are often very severe 
thunderstorms, accompanied with tremendous showers of 
hail, which do great mischief to the crops and houses. 
The hailstones are of an enormous size, upwards of an 
inch in diameter ; and on two or three occasions they 
broke all the windows in Fort Garry that were exposed 
to the storm. 

Generally speaking, however, the weather is serene and 
calm, particularly in autumn, and during the delicious 
season peculiar to America called the Indian summer, 
which precedes the commencement of winter. 

The scenery of Red River, as I said before, is neither 
grand nor picturesque, yet, when the sun shines brightly 
on the waving grass, and glitters on the silver stream, and 
when the distant and varied cries of wild-fowl break in 
plaintive cadence on the ear, one experiences a sweet 
exulting happiness, akin to the feelings of the sailor when 
he gazes forth at early morning on the polished surface 
of the sleeping sea. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 97 

Such is Red River, and such the scenes on which I gazed 
in wonder, as I rode by the side of my friend and fellow- 
clerk, M'Kenny, on the evening of my arrival at my new 
home. Mr. M'Kenny was mounted on his handsome 
horse " Colonel," while I cantered by his side on a horse 
that afterwards bore me over many a mile of prairie land. 
It is not every day that one has an opportunity of describ- 
ing a horse like the one I then rode, so the reader will be 
pleased to have a Httle patience while I draw his portrait. 
In the first place, then, his name was " Taureau." He 
was of a moderate height, of a brown color, and had the 
general outlines of a horse, when viewed as that animal 
might be supposed to 'appear if reflected from the depths 
of a bad looking-glass. His chief peculiarity was the 
great height of his hind-quarters. In youth they had 
outgrown the fore-quarters, so that, upon a level road, 
you had all the advantages of riding down-hill. He can- 
tered delightfully, trotted badly, walked slowly, and upon 
all and every occasion evinced a resolute pig-headedness, 
and a strong disinclination to accommodate his will to that 
of his rider. He was decidedly porcine in his disposition, 
very plebeian in his manners, and doubtless also in his 
sentiments 

Such was the Bucephalus upon which I took my first 
ride over the Red River prairie ; now swaying to and fro 
on his back as we galloped over the ground, anon stotting^ 
in the manner of a recruit in a cavalry regiment as yet 
unaccustomed to the saddle, when he trotted on the beaten 
track ; and occasionally, to the immense delight of M'Ken- 
ny, seizing tight hold of the saddle, as an uncertain waver 
in my body reminded me of Sir Isaac Newton's law of 
gravitation, and that any rash departure on my part from 
7 



98 HUDSON'S BAY. 

my understanding would infallibly lay me prostrate on 
the ground. 

Soon after my arrival I underwent the operation which 
my horse had undergone before me, viz : that of being 
broken in ; the only difference being that he was broken 
in to the saddle and I to the desk. It is needless to de- 
scribe the agonies I endured while sitting, hour after hour, 
on a long-legged stool, my limbs quivering for want of 
their accustomed exercise, while the tAvittering of birds, 
barking of dogs, lowing of cows, and neighing of horses, 
seemed to invite me to join them in the woods. Often, 
as my weary pen scratched slowly over the paper, their 
voices seemed to change to hoarse derisive laughter, as if 
they thought the little misshapen frogs croaking and 
whistling in the marshes freer far than their proud masters, 
who coop themselves up in smoky houses the livelong 
day, and call themselves the free, unshackled " lords of 
the creation ! " 

I soon became accustomed to these minor miseries of 
human life, and ere long could sit 

" From morn till night 
To scratch and write 

Upon a three-legg'd stool ; 
Nor mourn the joys 
Of truant boys 

Who stay away from school." 

There is a proverb which says, " It is a poor heart that 
never rejoices." Now, taking it for granted that the prov- 
erb speaks truth, and not wishing by our disregard of it 
to be thought poor-hearted, we — that is, M'Kenny and I — 
were in the habit of rejoicing our spirits occasionally — 
not in the usual way, by drinking brandy and water, 
(though we did sometimes, when nobody knew it, indulge 



HUDSON'S BAY. 99 

in a glass of beer, with the red-hot poker thrust into it,) 
but by shouldering our guns and sallying forth to shoot 
the partridges, or rather grouse, which abound in the 
woods of Red River. On these occasions M'Kenny and 
I used to range the forest in company, enlivening our 
walk with converse, sometimes light and cheerful, often 
philosophically deep, or thinking of the " light of other 
days." We seldom went out without bringing home a few 
brace of gray grouse, which were exceedingly tame ; so 
tame, indeed, that sometimes they did not take wing until 
two or three shots had been fired. On one occasion, after 
walking about for half an hour without getting a shot, we 
started a covey of seven, which alighted upon a tree close 
at hand ; we instantly fired at the two lowest, and brought 
them down, while the others only stretched out their 
long necks, as if to see what had happened to their com- 
rades, but did not fly away. Two more were soon shot ; 
and while we were reloading our guns, the other three 
flew off to a neighboring tree. In a few minutes more 
they followed their companions, and we had bagged the 
wdiole seven. This is by no means an uncommon exploit, 
when the birds are tame ; and though poor sport, yet it 
helps to fill your larder with somewhat better fare than it 
would often contain without such assistance. The only 
tiling that we had to avoid was, aiming at the birds on the 
higher branches, as the noise they make in falling frightens 
those below. The experienced sportsman always begins 
with the lowest bird, and if they sit still after the first 
shot, he is almost sure of the rest. 

Shooting, however, was not our only amusement : some- 
times, on a fine evening, we used to saddle our horses and 
canter over the prairie till Red River and the fort were 
scarcely visible in the horizon ; or, following the cart 



100 HUDSON'S BAY. 

road along the settlement, we called upon our friends and 
acquaintances ; returning the polite " bonjour " of the 
French settler, as he trotted past us on his shaggy pony, 
or smiling at the pretty half-caste girls, as they passed 
along the road. These same girls, by the way, are gen- 
erally very pretty ; they make excellent wives, and are 
uncommonly thrifty. With beads, and brightly colored 
porcupines' quills, and silk, they work the most beautiful 
devices on the moccasins, leggins, and leathern coats 
worn by the inhabitants ; and during the long winter 
months they spin and weave an excellent kind of cloth, 
from the wool produced by the sheep of the settlement, 
mixed with that of the buffalo, brought from the prairies 
by the hunters. 

About the middle of autumn the body of Mr. Thomas H 
Simpson, the unfortunate discoverer, who, in company with 
Mr. Dease, attempted to discover the Nor'west Pas- '■* 
sage, was brought to the settlement for burial. Poor Mr. ^^ 
Simpson had set out with a party of Red River half- ^ 
breeds, for the purpose of crossing the plains to St. Louis, ^ 
and proceeding thence through the United States to Eng- 
land. Soon after his departure, however, several of the 
party returned to the settlement, stating that Mr. Simp- 
son had, in a fit of insanity, killed two of his men and 
then shot himself, and that they had buried him on the 
spot where he fell. This story, of course, created a great 
sensation in the colony ; and as all the party gave the 
same account of the affair upon investigation, it was be- 
lieved by many that he had committed suicide. A few, 
however, thought that he had been murdered, and had 
shot the two men in self-defence. In the autumn of 1841 
the matter was ordered to be further inquired into ; and, 
accordingly, Dr. Bunn was sent to the place where Mr. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 101 

Simpson's body had been interred, for the purpose of 
raising and examining it. Decomposition, however, had 
proceeded too far ; so the body was conveyed to the col- 
ony for burial, and Dr. Bunn returned without having 
discovered anything that could throw light on the melan- 
choly subject. 

I did not know Mr. Simpson personally, but from the 
report of those who did, it appears that, though a clever 
and honorable man, he was of rather a haughty disposi- 
tion, and in consequence was very much disliked by the 
half-breeds of Red Kiver. I therefore think, with many 
of Mr. Simpson's friends and former companions, that he 
did not kill himself, and that this was only a false report 
of his murderers. Besides, it is not probable that a man 
who had just succeeded in making important additions to 
our geographical knowledge, and who might reasonably 
expect honor and remuneration upon returning to his 
native land, would, without any known or apparent cause, 
first commit murder and then suicide. By his melan- 
choly death, the Hudson's Bay Company lost a faithful 
servant, and the world an intelligent and enterprising 
man. 

Winter, according to its ancient custom, passed away ; 
and spring, not with its genial gales and scented flowers, 
but with burning sun and melting snow, changed the face 
of nature, and broke the icy covering of Red River. 
Duffle coats vanished, and a few of the half-breed settlers 
doffed their fur caps, and donned the "bonnet rouge," 
while the more hardy and savage contented themselves 
with the bonnet noir, in the shape of their own thick, 
black hair. Carioles still continued to run, but it was 
merely from the force of habit, and it was evident they 
would soon give up in despair. Sportsmen began to think 



102 HUDSON'S BAY. 

of clucks and geese, farmers of ploughs and wheat, and 
voyageurs to dream of rapid streams and waterfalls, and 
of distant voyages in light canoes. 

Immediately upon the ice on the lakes and rivers 
breaking up, we made arrangements for despatching the 
Mackenzie's River brigade, which is always the first that 
leaves the colony, for the purpose of conveying goods to 
Mackenzie's River, and carrying furs to the sea-coast. 

Choosing the men for this long and arduous voyage 
was an interesting scene. L'Esperance, the old guide, 
who had many a day guided this brigade through the 
lakes and rivers of the interior, made his appearance at 
the fort a day or two before the time fixed for starting ; 
and at his heels followed a large band of wild, careless, 
happy-looking half-breeds. Having collected in front of 
the office door, Mr. M'Kenny went out with a book and 
pencil in his hand, and told L'Esperance to begin. The 
guide went a little apart from the rest, accompanied by 
the steersmen of the boats (seven or eight in number), 
and then, scanning the group of dark, athletic men who 
stood smiling before him, called out, " Pierre ! " A tall, 
Herculean man answered to the call, and stepping out 
from among the rest, stood beside his friend the guide. 
After this, one of the steersmen chose another man ; and 
so on, till the crews of all the boats were completed. 
Their names were then marked down in a book, and they 
all proceeded to the trading-room, for the purpose of tak- 
ing " advances," in the shape of shirts, trousers, bonnets, 
caps, tobacco, knives, capotes, and all the other things 
necessary for a long, rough journey. 

On the day appointed for starting, the boats, to the 
number of six or seven, were loaded with goods for the 
interior ; and the voyageurs, dressed in their new clothes, 



HUDSON'S BAY. . 103 

embarked, after shaking hands with, and in many cases 
embracing, their comrades on the land ; and then, ship- 
ping their oars, they shot from the bank and rowed 
swiftly down Red River, singing one of their beautiful 
boat-songs, which was every now and then interrupted 
by several of the number hallooing a loud farewell, as 
they passed here and there the cottages of friends. 

With this brigade I also bade adieu to Red River, and, 
after a pleasant voyage of a few days, landed at Norway 
House, while the boats pursued their way. ' 



104 HUDSON'S BAY. 



CHAPTER VII. 

NORWAY HOUSE. 

NORWAY HOUSE, as we have before mentioned, is 
built upon the shores of Playgreen Lake, close to 
Jack River, and distant about twenty miles from Lake 
Winnipeg. At its right-hand corner rises a huge abrupt 
rock, from whose summit, where stands a flagstaff, a fine 
view of Playgreen Lake and the surrounding country is 
obtained. On this rock a number of people were assem- 
bled to witness our arrival, and among them Mr. Russ, 
who sauntered down to the wharf to meet us as we step- 
ped ashore. 

A few days after my arrival, the Council " resolved " 
that I should winter at Norway House ; so next day, in 
accordance with the resolution of that august assembly, I 
took up my quarters in the clerks' room, and took pos- 
session of the books and papers. 

It is an author's privilege, I believe, to jump from 
place to place and annihilate time at pleasure. I avail 
myself of it to pass over the autumn — during which I 
hunted, fished, and paddled in canoes to the Indian vil- 
lage at Rossville a hundred times — and jump at once 
into the middle of winter. 

Norway House no longer boasts the bustle and excite- 
ment of the summer season. No boats arrive, no groups 
of ladies and gentlemen assemble on the rocks to gaze at 
the sparkling waters. A placid stillness reigns around, 



1 



I 



HUDSON'S BAY. 105 

except in the immediate vicinity of the fort, where a few 
axe-men chop the winter firewood, or start with trains of 
dog-sledges for the lakes, to bring home loads of white- 
fish and venison. Mr. Russ is reading the " Penny 
Cyclopaedia " in the Hall (as the winter mess-room is 
called), and I am writing in the dingy Httle office in the 
shade, which looks pigstyish in appearance without, but 
is warm and snug within. Alongside of me sits Mr. 
Gumming, a tall, bald-headed, sweet-tempered man of 
forty-five, who has spent the greater part of his life 
among the bears and Indians of Hudson's Bay, and is 
now on a Christmas visit at Norway House. He has 
just arrived from his post, a few hundred miles off", 
whence he walked on snow-shoes, and is now engaged in 
taking off" his moccasins and blanket socks, which he 
spreads out carefully below the stove to dry. 

We do not continue long, however, at our different 
occupations. Mr. Evans, the Wesleyan missionary, is to 
give a feast to the Indians at Rossville, and afterwards to 
examine the little children who attend the village school. 
To this feast we are invited; so in the afternoon Mr. 
Cumming and I put on our moose-skin coats and snow- 
shoes, and set off" for the village, about two miles distant 
from the fort. 

By the way Mr. Cumming related an adventure he 
had had while travelling through the country ; and as it 
may serve to show the dangers sometimes encountered 
by those who wander through the wilds of North Amer- 
ica, I will give it here in his own words. 

MR. CUMMING's adventure WITH A BEAR. 

" It was about the beginning of winter," said he, " that 
I set off" on snow-shoes, accompanied by an Indian, to a 



106 HUDSON'S BAY. 

small lake to fetch fish caught m the autumn, and which 
then lay frozen in a little house built of logs, to protect 
them for winter use. The lake was about ten miles off; 
and as the road was pretty level and not much covered 
with underwood, we took a train of dogs with us, and set 
off before daybreak, intending to return again before 
dark ; and as the day was clear and cold, we went cheer- 
ily along without interruption, except an occasional fall 
when a branch caught our snow-shoes, or a stoppage to 
clear the traces when the dojijs erot entangled amono; the 
trees. "We had proceeded about six miles, and the first 
gray streaks of day lit up the eastern horizon, when the 
Indian who walked in advance paused, and appeared to 
examine some foot-prints in the snow. After a few min- 
utes of close observation, he rose and said, that a bear 
had passed not long before, and could not be far off, and 
asked permission to follow it. I told him he might do so, 
and said I would drive the dogs in his track, as the bear 
had gone in the direction of the fish-house. The Indian 
threw his gun over his shoulder, and was soon lost in the 
forest. For a quarter of an hour I plodded on behind 
the dogs, now urging them along, as they flagged and 
panted in the deep snow, and occasionally listening for a 
shot from my Indian's gun. At last he fired, and almost 
immediately after fired again ; for you must know that 
some Indians can load so fast that two shots from their 
single barrel sound almost like the discharge in succession 
of the two shots from a double-barrelled gun. Shortly 
after, I heard another shot ; and then, as all became si- 
lent, I concluded he had killed the bear, and that I should 
soon find him cutting it up. Just as I thought this, a 
fierce growl alarmed me ; so, seizing a pistol which I al- 
ways carried with me, I hastened forward. As I came 



HUDSON'S BAY. 107 

nearer, I heard a man's voice mingled with the growls of 
a bear ; and upon arriving at the foot of a small mound, 
my Indian's voice, apostrophizing death, became distinctly 
audible. ' Come Death ! ' said he, in a contemptuous 
tone ; ' you have got me at last, but the Indian does not 
fear you ! ' A loud angry growl from the bear, as he saw 
me rushing up the hill, stopped him ; and the unfortu- 
nate man turned his eyes upon me with an imploring 
look. He was lying on his back, while the bear (a black 
one) stood over him, holding one of his arms in its mouth. 
In rushing up the mound I unfortunately stumbled, and 
filled my pistol with snow ; so that when the bear left the 
Indian and rushed towards me, it missed fire, and I had 
only left me the poor, almost hopeless chance, of stunning 
the savage animal with a blow of the butt-end. Just as 
he was rearing on his hind legs, my eye fell upon the 
Indian's axe, which fortunately lay at my feet, and seiz- 
ing it, I brought it down with all my strength on the 
bear's head, just at the moment that he fell upon me, and 
we rolled down the hill together. Upon recovering my- 
self, I found that the blow of the axe had killed him in- 
stantly, and that I was uninjured. Not' so the Indian : 
the whole calf of his left leg was bitten off, and his body 
lacerated dreadfully in various places. He was quite sen- 
sible, however, though very faint, and spoke to me when I 
stooped to examine his wounds. In a short time I had 
tied them up ; and placing him on the sledge with part 
of the bear's carcass, which I intended to dine upon, we 
returned immediately to the fort. The poor Indian got 
better slowly, but he never recovered the perfect use of 
his leg, and now hobbles about the fort, cutting firewood, 
or paddhng about the lake in search of ducks and geese 
in his bark canoe." 



108 HUDSON'S BAY. 

Mr. Gumming concluded his story just as we arrived 
at the little bay, at the edge of which the Indian village 
of Rossville is built. From the spot where we stood, the 
body of the village did not appear to much advantage ; 
but the parsonage and church, which stood on a small 
mound, their white walls in strong contrast to the back- 
ground of dark trees, had a fine picturesque effect. 
There were about twenty houses in the village, inhabited 
entirely by Indians, most of whom were young and mid- 
dle-aged men. They spend their time in farming during 
the summer, and are successful in raising potatoes and a 
few other vegetables for their own use. In winter they 
go into the woods to hunt fur-bearing animals, and also 
deer ; but they never remain long absent from their 
homes. Mr. Evans resided among them, and taught 
them and their children writing and arithmetic, besides 
instructing them in the principles of Christianity. They 
often assembled in the school-house for prayer and sacred 
music, and attended Divine service regularly in the 
church every Sunday. Mr. Evans, who was a good mu- 
sician, had taught them to sing in parts ; and it has a 
wonderfully pleasing effect upon a stranger to hear these 
dingy sons and daughters of the wilderness raising their 
melodious voices in harmony in praise of the Christian's 
Cod. 

Upon our arrival at the village, we were ushered into 
Mr. Evans's neat cottage, from the windows of which is a 
fine view of Playgreen Lake, studded with small islands, 
stretching out to the horizon on the right, and a bound- 
less wilderness of trees on the left. Here were collected 
the ladies and gentlemen of Norway House, and a num- 
ber of indescribable personages, apparently engaged in 
mystic preparations for the approaching feast. It was 



HUDSON'S BAY. 109 

with something like awe that I entered the school-room, 
and beheld two long rows of tables covered with puddings, 
IDies, tarts, stews, hashes, and vegetables of all shapes, 
sizes and descriptions, smoking thereon. I feared for 
the Indians, although they can stand a great deal in the 
way of repletion ; moderation being, of course, out of 
the question, with such abundance ot good things placed 
before them. A large shell was sounded after the man- 
ner of a bugle, and all the Indians of the village walked 
into the room and seated themselves, the women on 
one side of the long tables, and the men on the other. 
Mr. Evans stood at the head, and asked a blessing ; and 
then commenced a work of demolition, the like of which 
has not been seen since the foundation of the world I 
The pies had strong crusts, but the knives were stronger;, 
the paste was hard and the interior tough, but Indian, 
teeth were harder and Indian jaws tougher ; the dishes 
were gigantic, but the stomachs were capacious ; so that 
ere long numerous skeletons and empty dishes alone 
graced the board. One old woman, of a dai'k-brown 
complexion, with ghttering black eyes and awfully long 
teeth, set up in the wholesale Hne, and demolished the 
viands so rapidly, that those who sat beside her, fearing 
a dearth in the laud, began to look angry ; fortunately, 
however, she gave in suddenly, while in the middle of a 
venison pasty, and reclining languidly backward, with a 
sweetly contented expression of countenance, while her 
breath came thickly through her half-opened mouth, she 
gently fell asleep, and thereby, much to her chagrin, lost 
the tea and cakes which were served out soon afterwards 
by way of dessert. When the seniors had finished, the 
juveniles were admitted en masse, and they soon cleared 
away the remnants of the dinner. 



110 HUDSON'S BAY. 

The dress of the Indians upon this occasion was gen- 
erally blue cloth capotes with hoods, scarlet or blue cloth 
leggins, quill-worked moccasins, and no caps.' Some of 
them were dressed very funnily, and one or two of the 
oldest appeared in blue surtouts, which were very ill 
made, and much too large for the wearers. The ladies 
had short gowns without plaits, cloth leggins of various 
colors highly ornamented with beads, cotton handker- 
chiefs on their necks and sometimes also on their heads. 
The boys and girls were just their seniors in minia- 
ture. 

After the youngsters had finished dinner, the school- 
room was cleared by the guests ; benches were ranged 
along the entire room, excepting the upper end, where 
.a table, with two large candlesticks at either end, served 
^s a stage for the young actors. When all was arranged, 
the elder Indians seated themselves on the benches, while 
the boys and girls ranged themselves along the wall 
behind the table. Mr. Evans then, began, by causing a 
little boy about four years old to recite a long comical 
piece of prose in English. Having been well drilled for 
weeks beforehand, he did it in the most laughable style. 
Then came forward four little girls, who kept up an ani- 
mated philosophical discussion as to the difference of the 
days in the moon and on the earth. Then a bigger boy 
made a long speech in the Seauteaux language, at which 
the Indians laughed immensely, and with which the white 
people present (who did not understand a word of it) ap- 
peared to be greatly delighted, and laughed loudly too. 
Then the whole of the little band, upon a sign being given 
by Mr. Evans, burst at once into a really beautiful hymn, 
which was quite unexpected, and consequently all the 
more gratifying. This concluded the examination, if I 



HUDSON'S BAY. Ill 

may so call it ; and after a short prayer the Indians de- 
parted to their homes, highly delighted with their enter- 
tainment. Such was the Christmas feast at Kossville, and 
many a laugh it afforded us that night as we returned 
home across the frozen lake by the pale moonlight. 

Norway House is perhaps one of the best posts in the 
Indian country. The climate is dry and salubrious ; and 
although (like nearly all the other parts of the country) 
extremely cold in winter, it is very different from the 
damp, chilling cold of that season in Great Britain. The 
country around is swampy and rocky, and covered with 
dense forests. Many of the Company's post are but ill 
provided with the necessaries of life, and entirely des- 
titute of luxuries. Norway House, however, is favored 
in this respect. We always had fresh meat of some 
kind or other ; sometimes beef, mutton, or venison, and 
occasionally buffalo meat, was sent us from the Swan 
River district. Of tea, sugar, butter, and bread, we had 
more than enough ; and besides the produce of our garden 
in the way of vegetables, the river and lake contributed 
white-fish, sturgeon, and pike, or jack-fish, in abundance. 
The pike is not a delicate fish, and the sturgeon is ex- 
tremely coarse, but the white-fish is the most dehcate 
and delicious I ever ate. I am not aware of their exis- 
tence in any part of the Old World ; but the North 
American lakes abound with them. It is generally the 
size of a good salmon trout, of a bright silvery color, 
and tastes a little like salmon. Many hundreds of fur 
traders live almost entirely on white-fish, particularly at 
those far northern posts where flour, sugar, and tea can- 
not be had in great quantities, and where deer are 
scarce. At these posts the Indians are frequently re- 
duced to cannibalism, and the Company's people have, on 



112 HUDSON'S BAY. 

more than one occasion, been obliged to eat their beaver- 
skins ! The beaver-skin is thick and oily ; so that, when 
the fur is burnt off, and the skin well boiled, it makes a 
kind of soup that will at least keep one alive. Star- 
vation is quite common among the Indians of those dis- 
tant regions ; and the scraped rocks, divested of their 
covering of tripe-de-roche, (which resembles dried-up sea- 
weed,) have a sad meaning and melancholy appearance 
to the traveller who journeys through the wilds and soli- 
tudes of Rupert's Land. 

Norway House is also an agreeable and interesting 
place, from its being in a manner the gate to the only 
route to Hudson's Bay ; so that, during the spring and 
summer months, all the brigades of boats and canoes from 
every part of the northern department must necessarily 
pass it on their way to York Factory with furs ; and as 
they all return in the autumn, and some of the gentle- 
men leave their wives and famihes for a few weeks till 
they return to the interior, it is at this sunny season of 
the year quite gay and bustling ; and the clerks' house, 
in which I lived, was often filled with a strange and noisy 
collection of human beings, who rested here awhile ere 
they started for the shores of Hudson's Bay, for the dis- 
tant regions of Mackenzie's River, or the still more dis- 
tant land of Oregon. 

During winter our principal amusement was white- 
partridge shooting. This bird is a species of ptarmigan, 
and is pure white, with the exception of the tips of the 
wings and tail. They were very numerous during the 
winter, and formed an agreeable dish at our mess-table. 
I also enjoyed a little skating at the beginning of the 
winterj but the falling snow soon put an end to this 
amusement. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 113 

Spring, beautiful spring ! returned again to cheer us 
in our solitude, and to open into life the waters and 
streams of Hudson's Bay. Great will be the difference 
between the reader's idea of that season in that place, 
and the reality. Spring, with its fresh green leaves and 
opening flowers, its emerald fields and shady groves, 
filled with sounds of melody ! No, reader, that is not 
the spring we depict. Not quite so beautiful, though far 
more prized by those who spend a monotonous winter of 
more than six months in solitude. The sun shines 
brightly in a cloudless sky, lighting up the pure white 
fields and plains with dazzling brilliancy. The gush- 
ing w^aters of a thousand rills, formed by the melting 
snow, break sweetly on the ear, like the well-remembered 
voice of a long-absent friend. The whistling wings of 
wild-fowl, as they ever and anon desert the pools of water 
now open in the lake, and hurry over the forest-trees, 
accord well witli the shrill cry of the yellow-leg and 
curlew, and with the general wildness of the scene ; 
while the reviving frogs chirrup gladly in the swamps, 
to see the breaking up of winter, and welcome back the 
spring. This is the spring I write of; and to have a 
correct idea of the beauties and the sweetness of this 
^ring, you must first spend a winter in Hudson's Bay. 

As I said, then, spring returned. The ice melted, 
floated off, and vanished. Jack Eiver flowed gently on 
its way, as if it had never gone to sleep, and the lake 
rolled and tumbled on its shores, as if to congratulate 
them on the happy change. Soon the boats began to 
arrive : first came the " Portage Brigade," in charge of 
L'Esperance ; there were seven or eight boats ; and, ere 
long, as many fires burned on the green beside the fort, 
with a merry, careless band of wild-looking Canadian 



114 HUDSON'S BAY. 

and half-breed voyageurs round each — and a more pic- 
turesque set of fellows I never saw. They were all 
dressed out in new light-blue capotes and corduroy trou- 
sers, which they tied at the knee with beadwork gaiters. 
Moose-skin moccasins cased their feet, and their brawny 
sunburnt necks were bare ; a scarlet belt encircled the 
waist of each ; and while some wore hats with gaudy 
feathers, others had their heads adorned with caps and 
bonnets, surrounded with gold and silver tinsel hat-cords. 
A few, however, despising coats, travelled in blue and 
white striped shirts, and trusted to their thickly matted 
hair to guard them from the rain and sun. They were 
truly a wild yet handsome set of men ; and no one, 
when gazing on their happy faces as they lay or stood 
in careless attitudes round the fires, puffing clouds of 
smoke from their ever-burning pipes, would have be- 
lieved that these men had left their wives and families 
but the week before, to start on a five months' voyage 
of the most harassing description, fraught with the 
dangers of the boiling cataracts and foaming rapids of 
tlie interior. 

They stopped at Norway House on their way, to re- 
ceive the outfit of goods for the Indian trade of Atha- 
basca, (one of the interior districts,) and were then to 
start for Portage La Loche ; a place where the whole 
-cargoes are carried on the men's shoulders overland, for 
twelve miles, to the head M^aters of another river, where 
the traders from the northern posts come to meet them ; 
and, taking the goods, give in exchange the " returns " in 
furs of the district. 

Next came old Mr. Mottle, with his brigade of five 
boats from Isle a la Crosse, one of the interior districts ; 
and soon another set of camp fires burned on the green, ' 



HUDSON'S BAY. 115 

and the clerks' house received another occupant. After 
them came the Red River brigades in quick succession : 
careful, funny, uproarious Mr. Mott, on his way to York 
for goods expected by the ship, (for you must know Mr. 
Mott keeps a store in Red River, and is a man of some 
importance in the colony ;) and grasping, comical, close- 
fisted Mr. Macdear, and quiet Mr. Sink, all passing on- 
wards to the sea — rendering Norway House quite lively 
for a time, and then leaving it silent ; but not for long, 
as the Saskatchewan brigade, under the charge of chief 
trader Ilarrit and young Mr. Polly, suddenly arrived, 
and filled the whole country with noise and uproar. The 
Saskatchewan brigade is the largest and most noisy that 
halts at Norway House. It generally numbers from 
fifteen to twenty boats, filled with the wildest men in the 
service. They come from the prairies and Rocky Moun- 
tains, and are consequently brimful of stories of the buf- 
falo hunt, attacks upon grizzly bears and wild Indians ; 
some of them interesting and true enough, but most of 
them either tremendous exaggerations, or altogether in- 
ventions of their own wild fancies. 

Soon after, the light canoes arrived from Canada, and 
in them an assortment of raw material for the service, in 
the shape of four or five green young men. 

The clerks' house now became crammed ; the quiet 
elderly folks, who had continued to fret at its noisy oc- 
cupants, fled in despair to another house, and thereby 
left room for the new-comers, or greenhorns, as they 
were elegantly styled by their more knowing fellow- 
clerks. 

Now, indeed, the corner of the fort in which we lived 
was avoided by all quiet people, as if it were smitten 
'with the plague; while the loud laugh, uproarious song, 



116 HUDSON'S BAY. 

and sounds of the screeching flute or scraping " fiddle, 
issued from the open doors and windows, frightening 
away the very mosquitos, and making roof and rafters 
ring. Suddenly a dead silence would ensue, and then it 
was conjectured by the knowing ones of the place that 
Mr. Polly was coining out strong for the benefit of the 
new arrivals. Mr. Polly had a pleasant way of getting 
the green ones round him, and, by detailing some of the 
wild scenes and incidents of his voyages in the Sas- 
katchewan, of leading them on from truth to exaggera- 
tion, and from that to fanciful composition, wherein he 
would detail, with painful minuteness, all the horrors 
of Indian warfare, and the improbability of any one who 
entered those dreadful regions ever returning alive ! 

Norway House was now indeed in full blow ; and many 
a happy hour did I spend upon one of the clerk's beds, 
every inch of which was generally occupied, listening to 
the story or the song. The young men there assembled 
had arrived from the distant quarters of America, and 
some of them even from England. Some were in the 
prime of manhood, and had spent many years in the In- 
dian country ; some were beginning to scrape the down 
from their still soft chins ; while others were boys of four- 
teen, who had just left home, and were listening for the 
first time, open-mouthed, to their seniors' description of life 
in the wilderness. 

Alas ! how soon were those happy, careless young 
fellows to separate ; and how little probability was there 
of their ever meeting again ! A sort of friendship had 
sprung up among three of us ; many a happy hour had 
we spent in rambling among the groves and woods of 
Norway House; now ranging about in search of wild 
pigeons, anon splashing and tumbling in the clear waters 



HUDSON'S BAY. 117 

of the lake, or rowing over its surface in a light canoe ; 
while our inexperienced voices filled the woods with 
snatches of the wild yet plaintive songs of the voyageurs, 
which we had just begun to learn. Often had we lain on 
our little pallet in Bachelors' Hall, recounting to each 
other our adventures in the wild woods, or recalling the 
days of our childhood, and making promises of keeping 
up a steady correspondence through all our separations, 
difficulties, and dangers. 

A year passed away, and at last I got a letter from one 
of my friends, dated from the Arctic regions, near the 
mouth of Mackenzie's River; the other wrote to me 
from among the snow-clad caps of the Rocky Mountains ; 
while I addressed them from the swampy ice-begirt shores 
of Hudson's Bay. 

In the Saskatchewan brigade two young bisons were 
conveyed to York Factory, for the purpose of being 
shipped for England in the Prince Rupert. They were a 
couple of the wildest little wretches I ever saw, and were 
a source of great annoyance to the men during the voy- 
age. The way they were taken was odd enough, and I 
shall here describe it. 

In the Saskatchewan the chief food both of white men 
and Indians is buffalo meat, so that parties are constantly 
sent out to hunt the bujffalo. They generally chase them 
on horseback, the country being mostly prairie land, and, 
when they get close enough, shoot them with guns. The 
Indians, however, shoot them oftener with the bow and 
arrow, as they prefer keeping their powder and shot for 
warfare. They are very expert with the bow, which is 
short and strong, and can easily send an arrow quite 
through a buffalo at twenty yards off. One of these par- 
ties, then, was ordered to procure two calves aUve, if pos- 



118 HUDSON'S BAY. 

sible, and lead them to the Company's establishment. 
This they succeeded in doing, in the following manner: — 
Upon meeting with a herd, they all set off full gallop in 
chase ; away went the startled animals at a round trot, 
which soon increased to a gallop as the horsemen neared 
them, and a shot or two told that they were coming 
within range. Soon the shots became more numerous, 
and here and there a black spot on the prairie told where 
a buffalo had fallen. No slackening of the pace occurred, 
however, as each hunter, upon killing an animal, merely 
threw down his cap or mitten to mark it as his own, and 
continued in pursuit of the herd, loading his gun as he 
galloped along. The buffalo hunters, by the way, are 
very expert at loading and firing quickly while going at 
full gallop. They carry two or three bullets in their 
mouths, which they spit into the muzzles of their guns 
after dropping in a little powder, and instead of ramming 
It down with a rod, merely hit the butt-end of the gun 
on the pommel of their saddles, and in this way fire a 
great many shots in quick succession. This, however, is 
a dangerous mode of shooting, as the ball sometimes 
sticks half-way down the barrel and bursts the gun, carry- 
ing away a finger, and occasionally a hand. 

In this way they soon killed as many buffaloes as they 
could carry in their carts, and one of the hunters set off 
in chase of a calf. In a short time he edged one away 
from the rest, and then, getting between it and the herd, 
ran straight against it with his horse and knocked it 
down. The frightened little animal jumped up again 
and set off with redoubled speed, but another butt from 
the horse again sent it sprawling ; again it rose, and was 
again knocked down ; and in this way was at last fairly 
tired out; when the hunter, jumping suddenly from his 



HUDSON'S BAY. 119 

horse, threw a rope round its neck, and drove it before 
him to the encampment, and soon after brought it to the 
fort. It was as wild as ever when I saw it at Norway 
House, and seemed to have as much distaste to its thral- 
dom as the day it was taken. 

As the summer advanced, the heat increased, and the 
mosquitos became perfectly insupportable. Nothing 
could save one from the attacks of these little torments. 
Almost all other insects went to rest with the sun : sand- 
flies, which bite viciously during the day, went to sleep 
at night ; the large hull-dog, whose bite is terrible, slum- 
bered in the evening ; but the mosquito, the long-legged, 
determined, vicious, persevering mosquito, whose cease- 
less hum dwells forever on the ear, never went to sleep ! 
Day and night, the painftd, tender little pimples on our- 
necks and behind our ears were being constantly re- 
touched by these villanous flies. It was useless killing 
thousands of them ; millions supplied their place. The- 
only thing, in fact, that can protect one during the night 
{nothing can during the day) is a net of gauze hung 
over the bed ; but as this was looked upon by the young 
men as somewhat effeminate, it was seldom resorted to. 
The best thing for their destruction, we found, was to fill 
our rooms with smoke, either by burning damp moss 
or by letting off large puffs of gunpowder, and then 
throwing the doors and windows open to allow them to 
fly out. This, however, did not put them all out ; so we 
generally spent an hour or so before going to bed in 
hunting them with candles. Even this did not entirely 
destroy them; and often might our friends, by looking 
telescopically through the keyhole, have seen us wan- 
dering during the late hours of the night in our shirts, 
looking for mosquitos, like unhappy ghosts doomed to 



120 HUDSON'S BAY. 

search perpetually for something they can never find. 
Tlie intense, suffocating heat also added greatly to our 
discomfort. 

In fine weather I used to visit my friend Mr. Evans at 
Kossville, where I had always a hearty welcome. I re- 
member on one occasion being obliged to beg the loan of 
a canoe from an Indian, and having a romantic paddle 
across part of Playgreen Lake. I had been offered a 
passage in a boat which was going to Rossville, but was 
not to return. Having nothing particular to do, however, 
.at the time, I determined to take my chance of finding a 
return conveyance of some kind or other. In due time I 
arrived at the parsonage, where I spent a pleasant after- 
noon in sauntering about the village, and in admiring the 
rapidity and ease with which the Indian children could 
read and write the Indian language by means of a syllabic 
alphabet invented by their clergyman. The same gentle- 
man afterwards made a set of leaden types, with no other 
instrument than a penknife, and printed a great many 
hymns in the Indian language. 

In the eveninsr I beoran to think of returning to the 
fort, but no boat or canoe could be found small enough 
to be paddled by one man, and as no one seemed inclined 
to go with me, I began to fear that I should have to re- 
main all night. At last a young Indian told me he had a 
(hunting canoe, which I might have, if I chose to venture 
across the lake in it, but it was very small. I instantly 
accepted his offer, and, bidding adieu to my friends at 
the parsonage, followed him down to a small creek over- 
shaded by tall trees, where, concealed among the reeds 
and bushes, lay the canoe. It could not, I should think, 
have measured more than three yards in length, by 
eighteen inches in breadth at the middle, whence it 



HUDSON'S BAY. 121 

tapered at either end to a thin edge. It was made of 
birch bark scarcely a quarter of an inch thick, and its 
weight may be imagined, when I say that the Indian 
lifted it from the ground with one hand and placed it in 
the water, at the same time handing me a small light 
paddle. I stepped in with great care, and the frail bark 
trembled with my weight as I seated myself, and pushed 
out into the lake. The sun had just set, and his expir- 
ing rays cast a glare upon the overhanging clouds in the 
west, whilst the shades of night gathered thickly over 
the eastern horizon. Not a breath of wind disturbed the 
glassy smoothness of the water, in which every golden- 
tinted cloud was mirrored with a fidelity that rendered 
it difficult to say which was image and which reality. 
The little bark darted through the water with the great- 
est ease, and as I passed among the deepening shadows 
of the lofty pines, and across the gilded waters of the 
bay, a wild enthusiasm seized me ; I strained with all my 
strength upon the paddle, and the sparkling drops flew in 
showers behind me as the little canoe flew over the water 
more like a phantom than a reality; when suddenly I 
missed my stroke ; my whole weight was thrown on one 
side, the water gurgled over the gunwale of the canoe, 
and my heart leaped to my mouth, as I looked for an in- 
stant into the dark water. It was only for a moment ; in 
another instant the canoe righted, and I paddled the re- 
mainder of the way in a much more gentle manner — 
enthusiasm gone, and a most wholesome degree of timid- 
ity pervading my entire frame. It was dark when I 
reached the fort, and upon landing I took the canoe under 
my arm and carried it up the bank with nearly as much 
ease as if it had been a camp-stool. 

When the day was warm and the sun bright — when 



122 HUDSON'S BAY. 

the skj was clear and the water blue — when the air was 
motionless, and the noise of arrivals and departures had 
ceased — when work was at a stand, and we enjoyed the 
felicity of having nothing to do, Mr. Russ and I used to 
satinter down to the water's edge to have an hour or two's 
fishing. The fish we fished for were goldeyes, and the 
manner of our fishing was this : — 

Pausing occasionally as we walked along, one of us 
might be observed to bend in a watchful manner over the 
grass, and, gradually assuming the position of a quad- 
ruped, fall plump upon his hands and knees. Having 
achieved this feat, he would rise with a grasshopper 
between his finger and thumb ; a tin box being then held 
open by the other, the unlucky insect was carefully intro- 
duced to the interior, and the lid closed sharply — some 
such remark attending each capture as that " That one 
was safe," or, " There went another ; " and the mystery 
of the whole proceeding being explained by the fact, that 
these same incarcerated grasshoppers were intended to 
form the bait with which we trusted to beguile the unwary 
goldeyes to their fate. 

Having arrived at the edge of the place where we 
usually fished, each drew from a cleft in the rock a stout 
branch of a tree, around the end of which was wound a 
bit of twine with a large hook attached to it. This we 
unwound quickly, and after impaling a live grasshopper 
upon the barbs of our respective hooks, dropped them 
into the water, and gazed intently at the lines. Mr. Russ, 
who was a great lover of angling, now began to get ex- 
cited, and made several violent pulls at the line, under 
the impression that something had hitten. Suddenly his 
rod, stout as it was, bent with the immense muscular 
force applied to it, and a small goldeye, about three or 



HUDSON'S BAY. 123 

four inches long, flashed Hke an electric spark from the 
water, and fell with bursting force on the rocks behind, at 
the very feet of a small Indian boy, who sat nearly in a 
state of nature, watching our movements from among the 
bushes. The little captive was of a bright silvery color, 
with a golden eye, and is an excellent fish for breakfast. 
The truth of the proverb, " It never rains but it pours, " 
was soon verified by the immense number of goldeyes of 
every size, from one foot to four inches, which we show- 
ered into the bushes behind us. Two or three dozen were 
caught in a few minutes, and at last we began to get quite 
exhausted, and Mr. Russ proposed going up to the house 
for his new fly-rod, by way of diversifying the sport, and 
rendering it more scientific. 

Down he came again in a few minutes, with a splen- 
didly varnished, extremely slim rod, with an invisible line 
■ and an aerial fly. This instrument was soon put up, and 
Mr. Russ, letting out six fathoms of line, stood erect, and 
making a splendid heave, caught the Indian boy by the 
hair ! This was an embarrassing commencement ; but 
being an easy, good-natured man, he only frowned the boy 
out of countenance, and shortened his line. The next 
cast was more successful ; the line swept gracefully 
through the air, and fell in a series of elegant circles within 
a few feet of the rock on which he stood. Goldeyes, 
however, are not particular ; and ere he could draw the 
line straight, a very large one darted at the fly, and swal- 
lowed it. The rod bent into a beautiful oval as Mr. Russ 
made a futile attempt to whip the fish over his head, ac- 
cording to custom, and the hne straightened with fearful 
rigidity as the fish began to pull for its life. The fisher 
became energetic, and the fish impatient, but there was 
no prospect of its ever being landed ; till at last, having 



124 HUDSON'S BAY. 

got his rod inextricably entangled among the neighboring 
bushes, he let it ftill, and most unscientifically hauled the 
fish out by the line, exclaiming, in the bitterness of his 
heart, " that rods were contemptible childish things, and 
that a stout branch of a tree was the rod for him." This, 
last essay seemed to have frightened all the rest away, 
for not another bite did we get after that. 

Towards the beginning of June, 1843, orders arrived 
from head quarters, appointing me to spend the approach- 
ing winter at York Factory, the place where I had first 
pressed American soil. It is impossible to describe the 
joy with which I received the news. Whether it was 
my extreme fondness for travelling, or the mere love of 
change, I cannot tell, but it had certainly the effect of 
affording me immense delight, and I set about making 
preparation for the journey immediately. The arrival 
of the canoes from Canada was to be the signal for my 
departure, and I looked forward to their appearance with 
great impatience. 

In a few days the canoes arrived, and on the 4th of 
June, 1843, 1 started, in company with several other gen- 
tlemen, in two north canoes. These light, graceful craft 
were about thirty-six feet long, by from five to six broad, 
and were capable of containing eight men and three pas- 
sengers. They were made entirely of birch bark, and 
gaudily painted on the bow and stern. In these fairy- 
like boats, then, we swept swiftly over Playgreen Lake, 
the bright vermilion paddles glancing in the sunshine, 
and the woods echoing to the lively tune of A la claire 
fontaine^ sung by the two crews in full chorus. We soon 
left Norway House far behind us, and ere long were 
rapidly descending the streams that flow through the 
forests of the interior into Hudson's Bay. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 125 

While running one of the numerous rapids with which 
these rivers abound, our canoe struck upon a rock, which 
tore a large hole in its side. Fortunately the accident 
happened close to the shore, and nearly at the usual 
breakfasting hour ; so that while some of the men re- 
paired the damages, which they did in half an hour, 
we employed ourselves agreeably in demolishing a huge 
ham, several slices of bread, and a cup or two of strong 
tea. 

This was the only event worth relating that happened 
to us during the voyage ; and as canoe-travelling is en- 
larged upon in another chapter, we will jump at once to 
the termination of our journey. 



126 HUDSON'S BAY. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

YORK FACTORY— WINTER AMUSEMENTS, ETC. 

ARE you ambitious, reader, of dwelling in a " pleasant 
cot in a tranquil spot, with a distant view of the chang- 
ing sea ? " If so, do not go to York Factory. Not that 
it is such an unpleasant place — for I spent two years very 
happily there— but simply (to give a poetical reason, and 
explain its character in one sentence) because it is a 
monstrous blot on a swampy spot, with a partial view of 
the frozen sea ! 

First impressions are generally incorrect ; and I have 
little doubt that your first impression is, that a " mon- 
strous blot on a swampy spot " cannot by any possibility 
be an agreeable place. To dispel this impression and at 
the same time to enlighten you with regard to a variety 
of facts with which you are probably unacquainted, I 
shall describe York Factory as graphically as may be. 
An outline of its general appearance has been already 
given in a former chapter, so I will now proceed to par- 
ticularize the buildings. The principal edifice is the 
" general store," where the goods, to the amount of two 
years' outfit for the whole northern department, are 
stored. On each side of this is a long, low, whitewashed 
house, with green edgings, in one of which visitors and 
temporary residents during the summer are quartered. 
The other is the summer mess-room. Four roomy fur 
stores stand at right angles to these houses, thus forming 



HUDSON'S BAY. 127 

three sides of the front square. Behind these stands a 
row of smaller buildings for the laborers and tradesmen ; 
and on the right hand is the dwelling-house of the gentle- 
man in charge, and adjoining it the clerks' house, while 
on the left are the provision-store and Indian trading- 
shop. A few insignificant buildings, such as the oil-store 
and lumber-house, intrude themselves here and there ; 
and on the right a tall ungainly outlook rises in the air, 
affording the inhabitants an extensive view of their wild 
domains ; and just beside it stands the icehouse. This 
latter building is filled every spring with blocks of solid 
ice of about three feet square, which do not melt during 
the short but intensely hot summer. The inhabitants are 
thus enabled to lay up a store of fresh meat for summer 
use, which lasts them till about the commencement of 
winter. The lower stratum of ice in this house never 
melts ; nor, indeed, does the soil of the surrounding coun- 
try, which only thaws to the depth of a few feet, the sub- 
soil being perpetually frozen. 

The climate of York Factory is very bad in the warm 
months of the year, but during the winter the intensity 
of the cold renders it healthy. Summer is very short ; 
and the whole three seasons of spring, summer, and 
autumn are included in the months of June, July, Au- 
gust, and September — the rest being winter. 

During part of summer the heat is extreme, and mil- 
lions of flies, mosquitos, &c., render the country unbear- 
able. Fortunately, however, the cold soon extirpates 
them. Scarcely anything in the way of vegetables can 
be raised in the small spot of ground called by courtesy 
a garden. Potatoes one year, for a wonder, attained the 
size of walnuts ; and sometimes a cabbage and a turnip 
are prevailed upon to grow. Yet the woods are filled 



128 HUDSON'S BAY. 

with a great variety of wild berries, among which the 
cranbeny and swampbeny are considered the best. 
Black and red currants, as well as gooseberries, are 
plentiful, but the first are bitter, and the last small. The 
swampbeny is in shape something like the raspberry, of 
a light yellow color, and grows on a low bush, almost 
close to the ground. They make excellent preserves, 
and, together with cranberries, are made into tarts for 
the mess during winter. 

In the month of September there are generally a 
couple of weeks or so of extremely fine weather, which 
is called the India* summer ; after which winter, with 
frost, cold, aqd snow, sets in with rapidity. For a few 
weeks in October there is sometimes a little warm 
weather (or rather, I should say, a little thawy weather), 
but after that, until the following April, the thermometer 
seldom rises to the freezing-point. In the dejDth of win- 
ter it falls from 30 to" 40, 45, and even 50 degrees helow 
zero of Fahrenheit. This intense cold, however, is not 
so much felt as one might suppose, as during its continu- 
ance the air is perfectly calm. Were the slightest breath 
of wind to arise when the thermometer stands so low, no 
man could show his face to it for a moment. Forty de- 
grees below zero, and quite calm, is infinitely preferable 
to fifteen degrees below, or thereabouts, with a strong 
breeze of wind. Spirit of wine is, of course, the only 
liquid that can be used in the thermometers, as mercury, 
were it exposed to such cold, would remain frozen nearly 
half the winter. Spirit never froze in any cold ever ex- 
perienced at York Factory, unless when very much 
adulterated with water ; and even then the spirit would 
remain hquid in the centre of the mass.* 

* Quicksilver easily freezes ; and it has frequently been run into a 



HUDSON'S BAY. 129 

To resist this intense cold the inhabitants dress, not in 
furs, as is generally supposed, but in coats and trousers 
made of smoked deer-skins ; the only piece of fur in 
their costume being the cap. The houses are built of 
wood, with double windows and doors. They are heated 
by means of large iron stoves, fed with wood ; yet so in- 
tense is the cold, that I have seen the stove in places red- 
hotj and a basin of water in the room frozen nearly solid. 
The average cold, I should think, is about 15. or 16 de- 
grees below zero, or 48 degrees of frost. The country 
around is a complete swamp, but the extreme shortness 
of the warm weather, and the consequent length of win- 
ter, fortunately prevents the rapid decomposition of veg- 
etable matter. Another cause of the unhealthiness of 
the climate during summer is the prevalence of dense 
fogs, which come off the bay and enshroud the country, 
and also the liability of the weather to sudden and ex- 
treme changes. * 

Summer may be said to commence in July, the preced- 
ing month being a fight between summer and winter, 
which cannot claim the slightest title to the name of 
spring. As August advances the heat becomes great; 
but about the commencement of September nature wears 
a more pleasing aspect, which lasts till the middle of 
October. It is then clear and beautiful, just cold enough 
to kill all the mosquitos, and r^der brisk exercise 
agreeable. About this time, too, the young ducks begin 
to fly south, affording excellent sport among the marshes. 
A week or so after this winter commences, with light 
falls of snow occasionally, and hard frost during the night. 

bullet mould, exposed to the cold air till frozen, and in this state 
rammed down a gunbarrel, and fired through a thick plank. 
* See Table on next page. 

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HUDSON'S BAY. 



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HUDSON'S BAY. 131 

Flocks of snow-birds (the harbingers of cold in autumn, 
and heat in spring) begin to appear, and soon the whir- 
ring wings of the white partridge may be heard among 
the snow-encompassed willows. The first thaw generally 
takes place in April, and May is characterized by melt- 
ing snow, disruption of ice, and the arrival of the first 
flocks of wild-fowl. 

The country around the fort is one immense level 
swamp, thickly covered with willows, and dotted here and 
there with a few clumps of pine-trees. The only large 
timber in the vicinity grows on the banks of Hayes and 
Nelson Rivers, and consists chiefly of spruce fir. The 
swampy nature of the ground has rendered it necessary 
to raise the houses in the fort several feet in the air upon 
blocks of wood, and the squares are intersected by ele- 
vated wooden platforms, which form the only promenade 
the inhabitants have during the summer, as no one can 
venture fifty yards beyond the gates without wetting his 
feet. Nothing bearing the most distant resemblance to a 
hillock exists in the land. Nelson River is a broad 
stream, which discharges itself into Hudson's Bay, near 
the mouth of Hayes River, between which lies a belt of 
swamp and willows, known by the name of the Point of 
Marsh. Here may be found, during the spring and 
autumn, millions of ducks, geese, and plover, and during 
the summer billions of mosquitos. There are a great 
many strange plants and shrubs in this marsh, which 
forms a wide field of research and pleasure to the bota- 
nist and the sportsman ; but the lover of beautiful scenery 
and the florist will find little to please the eye or imag- 
ination, as nature has here put on her plainest garb, and 
flowers there are none. 

Of the feathered tribes there are the larcre and small 



132 HUDSON'S BAY. 

gray Canada goose, the laughing goose (so called from 
the resemblance of its cry to laughter), and the wavie or 
white goose. The latter are not very numerous. There 
are great numbers of wild-ducks, pintails, widgeons, di- 
vers, sawbills, black ducks, and teal ; but the prince of 
ducks (the canvasback) is not there. In spring and au- 
tumn the whole country becomes musical with the wild 
cries and shrill whistle of immense hosts of plover of all 
kinds — long legs, short legs, black legs, and yellow legs — 
sandpipers and snipe, which are assisted in their noisy 
concerts by myriads of frogs. The latter are really the 
best songsters in Hudson's Bay.* Bitterns are also found 
in the marshes ; and sometimes, though rarely, a solitary 
crane finds its way to the coast. In the woods, and 
among the dry places around, there are a few gray grouse 
and wood partridges, a great many hawks, and owls of 
all sizes, from the gigantic white owl, which measures 
five feet across the back and wings, to the small gray 
owl, not much bigger than a man's hand. 

In winter the woods and frozen swamps are filled with 
ptarmigan, or, as they are called by the trappers, white 
partridges. They are not very palatable ; but, neverthe- 
less, they form a pretty constant dish at the winter mess- 
table of York Factory, and afford excellent sport to the 
inhabitants. There are also great varieties of small 
birds, among which the most interesting are the snow- 
birds, or snow-flakes, which pay the country a flying visit 
at the commencement and termination of winter. 

Such is York Fort, the great depot and gate to the 

* The thousands of frogs that fill the swamps of America whistle 
or chirp so exactly like little birds, that many people, upon hearing 
them for the first time, have mistaken them for the feathered song- 
sters of the groves. Their only fault is that they scarcely ever cease 
singing. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 133 

wild regions surrounding Hudson's Bay. Having de- 
scribed its appearance and general characteristics, I shall 
proceed to introduce the reader to my future companions, 
and describe our amusements and sports among the 
marshes. 

bachelors' hall. 

On the of June, 1843, I.landed the second time 

on the wharf of York Fort, and betook myself to Bache- 
lors' Hall, where Mr. Grave, whom I met by the way, 
told me to take up my quarters. As I approached the 
door of the well-remembered house, the most tremendous 
uproar that ever was heard proceeded from within its 
dingy walls ; so I jumped the paling that stood in front of 
the windows, and took a peep at the interior before intro- 
ducing myself. 

The scene that met my eye was ludicrous in the ex- 
treme. Mounted on a chair, behind a bedroom door, 
stood my friend Crusty, with a large pail of water in his 
arms, which he raised cautiously to the top of the door, 
for the purpose of tilting it over upon two fellow-clerks 
who stood below, engaged in a wrestling match, little 
dreaming of the cataract that was soon to fall on their 
devoted heads ; at the door of a room opposite stood the 
doctor, grinning from ear to ear at the thought of send- 
ing a thick stream of water in Crusty's face from a large 
syringe which he held in his hands ; while near the stove 
sat the jolly skipper, looking as grave as possible under 
the circumstances. 

The practical joke was just approaching to a climax 
when I looked in. The combatants neared the door be- 
hind which Crusty was ensconced. The pail was raised, 



134 HUDSON'S BAY. 

and the syringe pointed, when the hall door opened, and 
Mr. Grarv'e walked in! The sudden change that ensued 
could not have been more rapidly effected had Mr. Grave 
been a magician. The doctor thrust the syringe into his 
pocket, into which a great deal of the water escaped and 
dripped from the skirts of his coat as he walked slowly 
across the room and began to examine, with a wonderful 
degree of earnestness, the edge of an amputating knife 
that lay upon his dre§sing-table. The two wrestlers 
sprang with one accord into their own room, where they 
hid their flushed faces behind the door. Certain smoth- 
ered sounds near the stove proclaimed the skipper to be 
revelling in an excruciating fit of suppressed laughter; 
while poor Crusty, who slipped his foot in rapidly de- 
scending from his chair, lay sprawling in an ocean of 
water, which he had upset upon himself in his fall. 

Mr. Grave merely went to Mr. Wilson's room to ask a 
few questions, and then departed as if he had seen noth- 
ing ; but a peculiar twist in the corners of his mouth, and 
a comical twinkle in his eye, showed that, although he 
said nothing, he had a pretty good guess that his " young 
men " had been engaged in mischief ! 

Such were the companions to whom I introduced my- 
self shortly after ; and, while they went off to the office, 
I amused myself in looking round the rooms in which I 
was to spend the approaching winter. 

The house was only one story high, and the greater 
part of the interior formed a large hall, from which sev- 
eral doors led into the sleeping apartments of the clerks. 
The whole was built of wood ; and few houses could be 
found wherein so little attention was paid to ornament or 
luxury. The walls were originally painted white ; but 
this, from long exposure to the influence of a large stove, 



HUDSON'S BAY. 135 

had changed to a dirty yellow. No carpet covered the 
floor ; nevertheless, its yellow planks had a cheerful ap- 
pearance ; and gazing at the numerous knots with which 
it was covered, often afforded me a dreamy kind of amuse- 
ment when I had nothing better to do. A large oblong 
iron box, on four crooked legs, with a funnel running 
from it through the roof, stood exactly in the middle of 
the room ; this was a stove, but the empty wood-box in 
the corner showed that its services were not required at 
that time. And truly they were not ; for it was the 
height of summer, and the whole room was filled with 
mosquitos and bull-dog flies, which kept up a perpetual 
hum night and day. The only furniture that graced the 
room consisted of two small unpainted deal-tables without 
tablecloths, five whole wooden chairs, and a broken one ; 
Mdiich latter, being light and handy, was occasionally used 
as a missile by the young men when they happened to 
quarrel. Several guns and fishing-rods stood in the cor- 
ners of the hall ; but their dirty appearance proclaimed 
that sporting, at that time, was not the order of the day. 
The tables were covered with a miscellaneous collection 
of articles ; and, from a number of jDipes, reposing on 
little odoriferous heaps of cut tobacco, I inferred that my 
future companions were great smokers. Two or three 
books, a pair of broken foils, a battered mask, and several 
surgical instruments, over which a huge mortar and pestle 
presided, completed the catalogue. 

The different sleeping apartments around were not 
only interesting to contemplate, but also extremely char- 
acteristic of the pursuits of their different tenants. The 
first I entered was very small, just large enough to con- 
tain a bed, a table, and a chest, leaving little room for the 
occupant to move about in ; and yet, from the appearance 



136 HUDSON'S BAY. 

of things, he did move about in it to some purpose, as the 
table was strewn with a number of saws, files, bits of 
ivory and wood, and in a corner a small vice held the 
head of a cane in its iron jaws. These were mixed with 
a number of Indian account-books and an inkstand ; so 
that I concluded I had stumbled on the bedroom of my 
friend Mr. Wilson, the postmaster. 

The quadrant case and sea-chest in the next room 
proved it to be the skipper's, without the additional testi- 
mony of the oiled-cloth coat and sou'wester hanging from 
a peg in the wall. 

The doctor's room was filled with dreadful-looking in- 
struments, suggestive of operations, amputations, bleeding 
wounds, and human agony ; while the accountant's was 
equally characterized by methodical neatness, and the 
junior clerks' by utter and chaotic confusion. None of 
these bedrooms were carpeted ; none of them boasted of a 
chair — the trunks and boxes of the persons to whom they 
belonged answering instead ; and none of the beds were 
graced witli curtains. Notwithstanding this emptiness, 
however, they had a somewhat furnished appearance, 
from the number of greatcoats, leather capotes, fur caps, 
worsted sashes, guns, rifles, shot-belts, snow-shoes, and 
powder-horns, with which the walls were profusely deco- 
rated. The ceilings of the rooms, moreover, were very 
low, so much so that, by standing on tiptoe, I could touch 
them with my hand ; and the window in each was only 
about three feet high by two and a half broad, so that, 
upon the whole, the house was rather snug than other- 
wise. 

Such was the habitation in which I dwelt — such were 
the companions with whom I associated at York Fac- 
tory. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 137 

As the season advanced the days became shorter, the 
nights more frosty, and soon a few flakes of snow fell, in- 
dicating the approach of winter. About the beginning of 
October the cold, damp, snowy weather that usually pre- 
cedes winter, set in ; and shortly afterwards Hayes River 
was full of drifting ice, and the whole country covered 
with snow. A week or so after this, the river was com- 
pletely frozen over ; and Hudson's Bay itself, as far as 
the eye could reach, was covered with a coat of ice. We 
now settled down into our winter habits. Double win- 
dows were fitted in, and double doors also. Extra blan- 
kets were put upon the beds ; the iron stove kept con- 
stantly alight ; and in fact, every preparation Avas made 
to mitigate the severity of the winter. 

The water froze every night in our basins, although the 
stove was kept at nearly a red heat all day, and pretty 
warm all night ; and our out-of-door costume was changed 
from jackets and shooting-coats to thick leather capotes, 
fur caps, duffle socks, and moccasins. 

Soon after this, white partridges showed themselves ; 
and one fine clear frosty morning, after breakfast, I made 
my first essay to kill some, in company with my fellow- 
clerk and room-mate Crusty, and the worthy skipper. 

The manner of dressing ourselves to resist the cold was 
curious. I will describe Crusty, as a type of the rest. 
After donning a pair of deer-skin trousers, he proceeded to 
put on three pair of blanket socks, and over these a pair 
of moose-skin moccasins. Then a pair of blue cloth leg- 
gins were hauled over his trousers, partly to keep the 
snow from sticking to them, and partly for warmth. 
After this he put on a leather capote edged with fur. 
This 'coat was very warm, being lined with flannel, and 
overlapped very much in front. It was fastened with a 



138 HUDSON'S BAY. 

scarlet worsted belt round the waist, and with a loop at 
the throat. A pair of thick mittens made of deer-skin 
hung round his shoulders by a worsted cord, and his neck 
was wrapped in a huge shawl, above whose mighty folds 
his good-humored visage beamed like the sun on the edge 
of a fog-bank. A fur cap with ear-pieces completed his 
costume. Having finished his toilet, and tucked a pair of 
snow-shoes, five feet long, under one arm, and a double- 
barrelled fowling-piece under the other, Crusty waxed 
extremely impatient, and proceeded systematically to ag- 
gravate the unfortunate skipper (who was always very 
slow, poor man, except on board ship), addressing sundry 
remarks to the stove upon the slowness of seafaring men 
in general, and skippers in particular. In a few minutes 
the skipper appeared in a similar costume, with a mon- 
strously long gun over his shoulder, and under his arm a 
pair of snow-shoes gaudily painted by himself; which 
snow-shoes he used to admire amazingly, and often gave 
it as his opinion that they were " slap-up, tossed-ofF-to-the 
nines " snow-shoes ! 

In this guise, then, we departed on our ramble. The 
sun shone brightly in the cold blue sky, giving a warm 
appearance to the scene, although no sensible warmth 
proceeded from it, so cold was the air. Countless mil- 
lions of icy particles covered every bush and tree, glitter- 
ing tremulously in its rays like diamonds — psha ! that 
hackneyed simile ; diamonds of the purest water never 
shone like these evanescent little gems of nature. The 
air was biting cold, obliging us to walk briskly along to 
keep our blood in circulation ; and the breath flew thick 
and white from our mouths and nostrils, like clouds of 
steam, and, condensing on our hair and the breasts of our 
coats, gave us the appearance of being powdered with fine 



HUDSON'S BAY. 139 

snow. Crusty's red countenance assumed a redder hue 
by contrast, and he cut a very comical figure when his 
bushy whiskers changed from their natural auburn hue 
to a pure white, under the influence of this icy covering. 
The skipper, who all this while had been floundering 
slowly among the deep snow, through which his short legs 
were but ill calculated to carry him, suddenly wheeled 
round, and presented to our view the phenomenon of a 
very red, warm face, and an extremely livid, cold nose 
thereunto afllxed. We instantly apprised him of the fact 
that his nose was frozen, which he would scarcely believe 
for some time ; how^ever, he was soon convinced ; and 
after a few minutes' hard rubbing it was restored to its 
usual temperature. 

We had hitherto been walking through the thick woods 
near the river's bank ; but finding no white partridges 
there, we stretched out into the frozen swamps, which 
now presented large fields and plains of compact snow, 
studded here and there with clumps and thickets of wil- 
lows. Among these we soon discovered fresh tracks of 
birds in the snow, whereat the skipper became excited 
(the sport being quite new to him), and expressed his 
belief, in a hoarse whisper, that they were not far off. 
He even went the length of endeavoring to walk on tip- 
toe, but being unable, from the weight of his snow-shoes, 
to accomplish this, he only tripped himself, and, falling 
with a stunning crash through a large dried-up bush, bur- 
ied his head, shoulders, and gun in the snow. Whir-r-r ! 
went the alarmed birds — crack! bang! went Crusty's gun, 
and down came two partridges ; while the unfortunate 
skipper, scarce taking time to clear his eyes from snow, 
in his anxiety to get a shot, started up, aimed at the birds, 
and blew the top of a w^illow, which stood a couple of feet 



140 HUDSON'S BAY. 

before him, into a thousand atoms. The partridges were 
very tame, and only flew to a neighboring clump of bushes, 
where they alighted. Meanwhile Crusty picked up his 
birds, and while reloading his gun, complimented the 
skipper upon the beautiful manner in which he pointed. 
To this he answered not, but raising his gun, let drive at 
a solitary bird, which, either from fear or astonishment, 
had remained behind the rest, and escaped detection until 
now, owing to its resemblance to the surrounding snow. 
He fortunately succeeded in hitting this time, and bagged 
it with great exultation. Our next essay was even more 
successfuL The skipper fired at one which he saw sitting 
near him, killed it, and also two more which he had not 
seen, but which had happened to be in a line with the 
shot, and Crusty and I killed a brace each when they 
took wing. 

During the whole day we wandered about the woods, 
sometimes killing a few ptarmigan, and occasionally a 
kind of grouse, which are called by the people of the 
country wood-partridges. Whilst sauntering slowly along 
in the afternoon, a rabbit darted across our path ; the 
skipper fired at it without even putting the gun to his 
shoulder, and to his utter astonishment killed it. After 
this we turned to retrace our steps, thinking that, as our 
game-bags were pretty nearly full, we had done enough 
for one day. Our sport was not done, however ; we came 
suddenly upon a large flock of ptarmigan, so tame that 
they would not fly, but merely ran from us a little way 
at the noise of each shot. The firing that now commenced 
was quite terrific. Crusty fired till both barrels of his gun 
were stopped up ; the skipper fired till his powder and 
shot were done ; and I fired till — / sicinned my tongue I 
Lest any one should feel surprised at the last statement, 



HUDSON'S BAY. « 141 

I may as well explain how this happened. The cold had 
become so intense, and my hands so benumbed with load- 
ing, that the thumb at last obstinately refused to open 
the spring of my powder-flask. A partridge was sitting 
impudently before me, so that in the fear of losing the 
shot, I thought of trying to open it with my teeth. In 
the execution of this plan, I put the brass handle to my 
mouth, and my tongue happening to come in contact with 
it, stuck fast thereto — or, in other words, was frozen to 
it. Upon discovering this, I instantly pulled the flask 
away, and with it a piece of skin about the size of a six- 
pence. Having achieved this little feat, we once more 
bent our steps homeward. 

During our walk the day had darkened, and the sky 
insensibly become overcast. Solitary flakes of snow fell 
here and there around us, and a low moaning sound, as 
of distant wind, came mournfully down through the som- 
bre trees, and, eddying round their trunks in little gusts, 
gently moved the branches, and died away in the dis- 
tance. With an uneasy glance at these undoubted signs 
of an approaching storm, we hastened towards the fort 
as fast as our loads permitted us, but had little hope of 
reaching it before the first burst of the gale. Nature 
had laid aside her sparkling jewels, and was now dressed 
in her simple robe of white. Dark leaden clouds rose on 
the northern horizon, and the distant howling of the cold, 
cold wind struck mournfully on our ears, as it rushed 
fresh and bitterly piercing from the Arctic seas, tearing 
madly over the frozen plains, and driving clouds of hail 
and snow before it. Whew ! how it dashed along — scour- 
ing wildly over the ground, as if maddened by the slight 
resistance offered to it by the swaying bushes, and 
hurrying impetuously forward to seek a more worthy 



142 *. HUDSON'S BAY. 

object on which to spend its bitter fury ! Wliew ! how 
it curled around our limbs, cfitcliing up mountains of 
snow into the air, and dashing them into impalpable dust 
against our wretched faces. Oh ! it was bitterly, bitterly 
cold. Notwithstanding our thick wrappings, we felt as if 
clothed in gauze ; while our faces seemed to collapse and 
wrinkle up as we turned them from the wind and hid them 
in" our mittens. One or two flocks of ptarmigan, scared by 
the storm, flew swiftly past us, and sought shelter in the 
neighboring forest. We quickly followed their example, 
and, availing ourselves of the partial shelter of the trees, 
made the best of our .way back to the fort, where we 
arrived just as it was getting dark, and entered the warm 
precincts of Bachelors' Hall, like three animated marble 
statues, so completely were we covered from head to foot 
with snow. 

It was curious to observe the change that took place 
in the appearance of our guns after we entered the warm 
room. The barrels,' and every bit of metal upon them, 
instantly became white, like ground glass ! This phe- 
nomenon was caused by the condensation and freezing of 
the moist atmosphere of the room upon the cold iron. 
Any piece of metal, when brought suddenly out of such 
intense cold into a Avarm room, will in this way become 
covered with a pure white coating of hoarfrost. It does 
not remain long in this state, however, as the warmth of 
the room soon heats the metal and melts the ice. Thus, 
in about ten minutes our guns assumed three diflferent 
appearances : when we entered the house, they were 
clear, polished, and dry ; in five minutes they were white 
as snow ; and in five more, dripping wet ! 

On the following morning a small ])arty of Indians ar- 
rived with furs, and Mr. Wilson went with them to the 
trading-room, whither I accompanied him. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 143 

The trading-room, or, as it is frequently called, the In- 
dian-shop, was much like what is called a store in the 
United States. It contained ever}^ ima<:nnable commodity 
likely to be needed by Indians. On various shelves were 
piled bales of cloth of all colors, capotes, blankets, caps, 
&c., and in smaller divisions were placed files, scalping- 
knives, gun-screws, flints, balls of twine, fire-steels, canoe- 
awls, and glass beads of all colors, size--, and descriptions. 
Drawers in the counter contained needles, pins, scissors, 
thimbles, fish-hooks, and vermilion for painting canoes 
and faces. The floor was strewn with a variety of copper 
and tin kettles, from half-a-pint to a gallon ; and on a 
stand in the furthest comer of the room stood about a 
dozen trading guns, and beside them a keg of powder 
and a box of shot. 

Upon our entrance into this room trade began. First 
of all, an old Indian laid a pack of furs upon the counter, 
which Mr. Wilson counted and valued. Having done 
this, he marked the amount opposite the old man's name 
in his " Indian book," and then handed him a number of 
small pieces of wood. The use of these pieces of wood 
is explained in the third chapter. The Indian then be- 
gan to look about him, opening his eyes gradually, as he 
endeavored to find out which of the many things before 
him he would like to have. Sympathizing with his eyes, 
his mouth slowly opened also ; and having remained in 
this state for some time, the former looked at Mr. Wilson, 
and the latter pronounced ahcoup (blanket). Having 
received the blanket, he paid the requisite number of bits 
of wood-ibr it, and became abstracted again. In this 
way he bought a gun. several yards of cloth, a few beads, 
&c., till all his sticks were gone, and he made way for 
another. The Indians were uncommonly slow, however. 



144 HUDSON'S BAY. 

and Mr. Wilson and I returned to the house in a couple 
of hours, with very cold toes and fingers, and exceedingly 
blue noses. 

During winter we breakfasted usually at nine o'clock, 
then sat down to the desk till one, when we dined. After 
dinner we resumed our pens till six, when we had tea, 
and then wrote again till eight, after which we cither 
amused ourselves with books, (of which we had a few,) 
kicked up a row, or, putting on our snow-shoes, went off 
to pay a moonlight visit to our traps. On Wednesdays 
and Saturdays, however, we did no work, and generally 
spent these days in shooting. 

It is only at the few principal establishments of the 
Company, where the accounts of the country are collected 
annually, to be forwarded to the Hudson's Bay House in 
London, that so much writing is necessary. 

As the Christmas holidays approached, we prepared 
for the amusements of that joyous season. On the morn- 
ing before Christmas, a gentleman who had spent the first 
part of the winter all alone at his outpost, arrived to pass 
the holidays at York Factory. We were greatly delighted 
to have a new face to look at, having seen no one but our- 
selves since the ship left for England, nearly four months 
before. 

Our visitor had travelled in a dog cariole. This 
machine is very narrow, just broad enough to admit one 
person. It is a w^ooden frame covered with deer-skin 
parchment, painted gaudily, and is generally drawn by 
four Esquimaux dogs.* Dogs are invaluable in the 

* The traveller sits, or rather lies in it, wrapped in buffalo robes; 
while the dogs are urged forward by a man who walks behind, and 
prevents the machine from upsetting, which it is very liable to do, 
from the inequalities of the ground over which it sometimes passes. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 147 

Arctic regions, where horses are utterly useless, owing to 
the depth of snow which covers the earth for so large a 
portion of the year. The comparatively light weight of 
the dogs enables them to walk without sinking much, and 
even when the snow is so soft as to be incapable of sup- 
porting them, they are still able to sprawl along more 
easily than any other species of quadruped could do. 
Four are usually attached to a sledge, which they haul 
with great vigor, being followed by a driver on snow- 
shoes, whose severe lash is brought to bear so powerfully 
on the backs of the poor animals, should any of them be 
observed to slacken their pace, that they are continually 
regarding him with deprecatory glances as they run 
along. Should the lash give a flourish, there is gener- 
ally a short yelp from the pack ; and should it descend 
amongst them with a vigorous crack, the vociferous yelling 
that resuhs is perfectly terrific. These drivers are some- 
times very cruel ; and when a pack of dogs have had a 
fight, and got their traces hopelessly ravelled, (as is often 
the case,) they have been known to fall on their knees in 
their passion, seize one of the poor dogs by the nose with 
their teeth, and almost bite it off. Dogs are also used for 
dragging carioles, which vehicles are used by gentlemen 
in the Company's service who are either too old or too 
lazy to walk on snow-shoes. The cariole is in form not 
unlike a slipper bath, both in shape and size. It is lined 
with buffalo robes, in the midst . of a bundle of which the 
occupant reclines luxuriously, while the dogs drag him 
slowly through the soft snow, and among the trees and 
bushes of the forest ; or scamper with him over the hard- 
beaten surface of a lake or river, while the machine is 
prevented from capsizing by a voyageur who walks be- 
hind on snow-shoes, holding on to a line attached to the 



148 HUDSON'S BAY. 

back part of the cariole. The weather daring winter is 
so cold that it is often a matter of the greatest difficulty 
for the traveller to keep his toes from freezing, despite 
the buffalo robes ; and sometimes, when the dogs start 
fresh in the morning, with a good breakfast, a bright, 
clear, frosty day, and a long expanse of comparatively 
open country before them, where the snow from exposure 
has become quite hard, away they go with a loud yelp, 
upsetting the driver in the bolt, who rises to heap un- 
deserved and very improper epithets upon the poor 
brutes, who, careering over the ground at the rate of 
eleven miles an hour, swing the miserable cariole over 
the snow, tear it through the bushes, bang it first on one 
side, then on the other, against stumps and trees, yelling 
all the while, partly with frantic glee at the thought of 
having bolted, and partly with fearful anticipation of the 
tremendous welting that is to come ; until at last the 
cariole gets jammed hard and fast among the trees of 
the forest, or plunges down the steep bank of a river 
head over heels till they reach the foot — a horrible and 
struggling compound of dogs, traveller, traces, parchment, 
bufftilo robes, blankets, and snow ! 

Christmas morning dawned, and I opened my eyes 
to behold the sun flashing brightly on the window, in 
its endeavors to make a forcible entry into my room, 
through the thick hoarfrost which covered the panes. 
Presently I became aware of a gentle breathing near me, 
and, turning my eyes slowly round, I beheld my com- 
panion Crusty standing on tiptoe, with a tremendous 
grin on his countenance, and a huge pillow in his hands, 
which was in the very act of descending upon my devot- 
ed head. To collapse into the smallest possible compass, 
and present the most invulnerable part of my body to 



HUDSON'S BAY. . 149 

the blow, was the work of an instant, when down came 
the pillow, bang ! " Hooroo ! hurroo ! hurroo ! a merry 
Christmas to you, you rascal ! " shouted Crusty. Bang ! 
bang ! went the pillow. " Turn out of that, you lazy 
lump of plethoric somnolescence," whack — and, twirling 
the ill-used pillow round his head, my facetious friend 
rushed from the room to bestow upon the other occupants 
of the hall a similar salutation. Upon recovering from 
the effects of my pommelling, I sprang from bed and 
donned my clothes with all speed, and then went to pay 
my friend Mr. Wilson the compliments of the season. 
In passing through the hall for this purpose, I discov- 
ered Crusty struggling in the arms of the skipper, who, 
having wrested the pillow from him, was now endeavor- 
ing to throttle him partially. I gently shut and fastened 
the door of their room, purposing to detain them there 
till very nearly too late for breakfast, and then sat down 
with Mr. Wilson to discuss our intended proceedings dur- 
ing the day. These were — firstly, that we should go 
and pay a ceremonious visit to the men ; secondly, that 
we should breakfast ; thirdly, that we should go out to 
shoot partridges ; fourthly, that we should return to din- 
ner at five ; and fifthly, that we should give a ball in 
Bachelors' Hall in the evening, to which were to be in- 
vited all the men at the fort, and all the Indians, men, 
women, and children, inhabiting the country for thirty 
miles round. As the latter, however, did not amount to 
above twenty, we did not fear that more would come 
than our hall was calculated to accommodate. In pur- 
suance, then, of these resolutions, I cleaned my gun, 
freed my prisoners just as the breakfast-bell was ring- 
ing, and shortly afterwards went out to shoot. I will not 
drag the reader after me, but merely say, that we all 



150 HUDSON'S BAY. 

returned about dusk, with game-bags full and appetites 
ravenous. 

Our Christmas dinner was a good one in a substantial 
point of view, and a very pleasant one, in a social point 
of view. We ate it in the winter mess-room, and really 
(for Hudson's Bay) this was quite a snug and highly 
decorated apartment. True, there was no carpet on the 
floor, and the chairs were homemade ; but then, the 
table was mahogany, and the walls were hung round with 
several large engravings in bird's-eye maple frames. 
The stove, too, was brightly polished with black lead, 
and the painting of the room had been executed with 
a view to striking dumb those innocent individuals who 
had spent the greater part of their lives at outposts, and 
were, consequently, accustomed to domiciles and furni- 
ture of the simplest and most unornamental description. 
On the present grand occasion, the mess-room was illu- 
minated by an argand lamp, and the table covered with 
a snow-white cloth, whereon reposed a platter, containing 
a beautiful fat, plump wild-goose, which had a sort of 
come-eat-me-up-quick-else-I'll-melt expression about it 
that was painfully delicious. Opposite to this smoked a 
huge roast of beef, to procure which one of our most use- 
less draught oxen had been sacrificed. This, with a 
dozen of white partridges, and a large piece of salt pork, 
composed our dinner. But the greatest rarities on the 
board were two large decanters of port wine, and two 
smaller ones of Madeira. These were flanked by tum- 
blers and glasses ; and truly, upon the whole, our dinner 
made a goodly show. 

" Come away, gentlemen," said Mr. Grave, as we 
entered the room and approached the stove where he 
stood, smiUng with that benign expression of countenance 



HUDSON'S BAY. 151 

peculiar to stout, good-natured gentlemen at this season, 
and at this particular hour. "Your walk must have 
sharpened your appetites ; sit down, sit down. This 
way, doctor, sit near me ; find a place, Mr. Ballantyne, 
beside your friend Crusty there ; take the foot, Mr. Wil- 
son ; " and amid a shower of such phrases we seated our- 
selves and began. 

At the top of the table sat Mr. Grave, indistinctly 
visible through the steam that rose from the wild-goose 
before him. On his right and left sat the doctor and the 
accountant, and down from them sat the skipper, four 
clerks, and Mr. Wilson, whose honest face beamed with 
philanthropic smiles at the foot of the table. Loud was 
the mirth and fan that reigned on this eventful day 
within the walls of the highly decorated room at York 
Factory. Bland was the expression of Mr. Grave's face, 
when he asked each of the young clerks to drink wine 
with him in succession ; and great was the confidence 
which thereby inspired the said clerks, prompting them to 
the perpetration of several rash and unparalleled pieces 
of presumption, such as drinking wine with each other, 
(an act of freewill on their part almost unprecedented,) 
and indulging in sundry sly pieces of covert humor, such 
as handing the vinegar to each other when the salt was 
requested, and becoming profusely apologetic upon dis- 
covering their mistake. But the wildest storm is often 
succeeded by the greatest calm, and the most hilarious 
mirth by the most solemn gravity. In the midst of our 
fun, Mr. Grave proposed a toast. Each filled a bumper, 
and silence reigned around, while he raised his glass, 
and said, " Let us drink to absent friends." We each 
whispered, " Absent friends," and set our glasses down 
in silence, while our minds flew back to the scenes of 



152 HUDSON'S BAY. 

former clays, and we mingled again in spirit with our 
dear, dear friends at home. How different the mirth of 
the loved ones there, circling round the winter hearth, 
from that of the men seated round the Christmas table in 
the Nor' west wilderness ! I question very much if this 
toast was ever drunk with a more thorough appreciation 
of its melancholy import than upon the present memo- 
rable occasion. Our sad feelings, however, were speedily 
put to flight, and our gravity routed, when the skipper, 
with characteristic modesty, proposed " The ladies ; " 
which toast we drank with a hearty good-will, although, 
indeed, the former included them, inasmuch as they also 
were absent friends — the only one within two hundred 
and fifty miles of us being Mr. Grave's wife. 

What a magical effect ladies have upon the male sex, 
to be sure ! Although hundreds of miles distant from 
an unmarried specimen of the species, upon the mere 
mention of their name there was instantly a perceptible 
alteration for the better in the looks of the whole party. 
Mr. Wilson unconsciously arranged his hair a little more 
becomingly, as if his ladye-love were actually looking at 
him ; and the skipper afterwards confessed that his heart 
had bounded suddenly out of his breast, across the snowy 
billows of the Atlantic, and come smash down on the 
wharf at Plymouth Dock, where he had seen the last 
wave of Nancy's checked cotton neckerchief as he left 
the shores of Old England. 

Just as we had reached the above climax, the sound of 
a fiddle struck upon our ears, and reminded us that our 
guests who had been invited to the ball were ready ; so, 
emptying our glasses, we left the dining-room, and ad- 
journed to the hall. 

Here a scene of the oddest description presented itself. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 153 

The room was lit up by means of a number of tallow 
candles, stuck in tin sconces round the walls. On benches 
and chairs sat the Orkneymen and Canadian half-breeds 
of the establishment, in their Sunday jackets and capotes; 
while here and there the dark visage of an Indian peered 
out from among their white ones. But round the stove — 
which had been removed to one side to leave space for 
the dancers — the strangest group was collected. Squat- 
ting down on the floor, in every ungraceful attitude 
imaginable, sat about a dozen Indian women, dressed in 
printed calico gowns, the chief peculiarity of which was 
the immense size of the balloon-shaped sleeves, and the 
extreme scantiness, both in length and width, of the 
skirts. Colored handkerchiefs covered their heads, and 
ornamented moccasins decorated their feet ; besides which, 
each one wore a blanket in the form ^pf a shawl, which 
they put off before standing up to dance. They were 
chatting and talking to each other with great volubility, 
occasionally casting a glance behind them, where at least 
half-a-dozen infants stood bolt upright in their tight- 
laced cradles. On a chair, in a corner near the stove, 
sat a young good-looking Indian, with a fiddle of his own 
making beside him. This was our Paganini ; and be- 
side him sat an Indian boy with a kettle-drum, on which 
he tapped occasionally, as if anxious that the ball should 
begin. 

All this flashed upon our eyes ; but we had not much 
time for contemplating it, as, the moment we entered, the 
women simultaneously rose, and coming modestly forward 
to Mr. Wilson, who was the senior of the party, saluted 
him, one after another ! I had been told that this was a 
custom of the ladies on Christmas-day, and was conse- 
quently not quite unprepared to go through the ordeal. 



154 HUDSON'S BAY. 

But when I looked at the superhuman ugliness of some 
of the old ones — when I gazed at the immense, and in 
some cases toothless chasms that were pressed to my 
senior's lips, and that gradually, like a hideous nightmare, 
approached towards me — and when I reflected that these 
same mouths might have, in former days, demolished a 
few children — my courage forsook me, and I entertained 
for a moment the idea of bolting. The doctor seemed to 
labor under the same disinclination with myself; for 
when they advanced to him, he refused to bend his head, 
and, being upwards of six feet high, they of course ^vere 
obliged to pass him. They looked, however, so much 
disappointed at this, and withal so very modest, that I 
really felt for them, and prepared to submit to my fate 
with the best grace possible. A horrible old hag ad- 
vanced towards jpe, the perfect embodiment of a night- 
mare, with a fearful grin on her countenance. I shut 
my eyes. Suddenly a bright idea flashed across my 
mind ; I stooped down, with apparent good-will, to salute 
her ; but just as our lips were about to meet, I slightly 
jerked up my head, and she kissed my cJiin. Oh, happy 
thought! They were all quite satisfied, and attributed 
the accident, no doubt, to their own clumsiness — or to 
mine ! 

This ceremony over, we each chose partners, the fiddle 
struck up, and the ball began. Scotch reels were the 
only dances known by the majority of the guests, so we 
confined ourselves entirely to them. 

The Indian women afforded us a good deal of amuse- 
ment during the evening. Of all ungraceful beings they 
are the most ungraceful ; and of all accomplishments, 
dancing is the one in which they shine least. There is 
no rapid motion of the feet, no lively expression of the 



HUDSON'S BAY. 155 

countenance ; but with a slow, regular, up-and-down mo- 
tion, they stalk through the figure with extreme gravity. 
They seemed to enjoy it amazingly, however, and scarcely 
allowed the poor fiddler a moment's rest during the whole 
evening. 

Between eleven and twelve o'clock our two tables 
were put together, and spread with several towels ; thus 
forming a pretty respectable supper table, which would 
have been perfect, had not the one part been three inches 
higher than the other. On it was placed a huge dish of 
cold venison, and a monstrous iron kettle of tea. This, 
with sugar, bread, and a lump of salt butter, completed 
the entertainment to which the Indians sat down. They 
enjoyed it very much, at least so I judged from the rapid 
manner in which the viands disappeared, and the inces- 
sant chattering and giggling kept up at intervals. After 
all were satisfied, the guests departed in a state of great 
liappiness, particularly the ladies, who tied up the rem- 
nants of their supper in their handkerchiefs, and carried 
them away. 

Before concluding the description of our Christmas 
doings, I may as well mention a circumstance which 
resulted from the effects of the ball, as it shows in a 
curious manner the severity of the climate at York Fac- 
tory. In consequence of the breathing of so many people 
in so small a room, for such a length of time, the walls 
had become quite damp, and ere the guests departed, 
moisture was trickling down in many places. During 
the night this moisture was frozen ; and, on rising the 
following morning, I found, to my astonishment, that 
Bachelors' Hall was apparently converted into a palace 
of crystal. The walls and ceiling were thickly coated 
with beautiful minute crystalHne flowers, not sticking flat 



156 HUDSON'S BAY. 

upon them, but projecting outwards in various directions, 
thus giving the whole apartment a cheerful light appear- 
ance, quite indescribable. The moment our stove was 
heated, however, the crystals became fluid, and ere long 
evaporated, leaving the walls exposed in all their original 
dinginess. 

Winter passed away ; but not slowly, or by degrees. 
A winter of so long duration could not be expected to 
give up its dominion without a struggle. In October it 
began, and in November its empire was established. 
During December, January, Februar}'-, March, and 
April, it reigned unmolested, in steadfast bitterness ; 
inclosing in its icy bands, and retaining in torpid fri- 
gidity, the whole inanimate and vegetable creation. But 
in May its powerful enemy, caloric, made a decided at- 
tack upon the empire, and dealt hoary Winter a stunning 
blow. • 

About the beginning of April a slight thaw occurred, 
the first that had taken place since the commencement 
of winter ; but this was speedily succeeded by hard frost, 
which continued till the second week in May, when thaAv 
set in so steadily, that in a few days the appearance of 
the country entirely changed. 

On the 12th of May, Hayes River, which had been 
covered for nearly eight months with a coat of ice up- 
wards of six feet thick, gave way before the floods occa- 
sioned by the melting snow ; and all the inmates of the 
fort rushed out to the banks upon hearing the news that 
the river was " going." On reaching the gate the sub- 
limity of the spectacle that met our gaze can scarcely be 
imagined. The noble river, here nearly two miles broad, 
was entirely covered with huge blocks, and jagged lumps 



HUDSON'S BAY. 157 

of ice, rolling: and dashing against each other in chaotic 
confusion, as the swelling floods heaved them up, and 
swept them with irresistible force towards Hudson's Bay. 
In one place, where the masses -were too closely packed 
to admit of violent collision, they ground against each 
other with a slow but powerful motion that curled their 
hard edges up like paper, till the smaller lumps^ unable 
to bear the pressure, were ground to powder, and with a 
loud crash the rest hurried on to renew the struggle else- 
where, while the ice above, whirling swiftly round in the 
clear space thus formed, as if delighted at its sudden re- 
lease, hurried onwards. In another place, where it was 
not so closely packed, a huge lump suddenly grounded on 
a shallow ; and in a moment the rolling masses, which 
were hurrying towards the sea with the velocity of a 
cataract, were precipitated against it wdth a noise like 
thunder, and the tremendous pressure from above, forc- 
ing block upon block with a loud hissing noise, raised, as 
if by magic, an icy castle in the air, which, ere its pin- 
nacles had pointed for a second to the sky, fell with 
stunning violence into the boiling flood from whence it 
rose. In a short time afterwards the mouth of the river 
became so full of ice that it stuck there, and in less than 
an hour the water rose ten or fifteen feet, nearly to a 
level w'ith the top of the bank. In this state it contin- 
ued for a week ; and then, about the end of May, the 
whole floated quietly out to sea, and the cheerful river 
gurgled along its bed with many a curling eddy and 
watery dimple rippling its placid face, as if it smiled to 
think of having overcome its powerful enemy, and at 
length burst its prison walls. 

Although the river was free, many a sign of winter 
yet remained around our forest home. The islands in 



158 HUDSON'S BAY. 

the middle of the stream were covered with masses of 
ice, many of which were piled up to a height of twenty 
or thirty feet. All along the banks, too, it was strewn 
thickly ; while in the woods snow still lay in many places 
several feet deep. In time, however, these last evidences 
of the mighty power of winter gave way before the warm 
embraces of spring. Bushes and trees began to bud, 
gushing rills to flow, frogs to whistle in the swamp, and 
ducks to sport upon the river, while the hoarse cry of the 
wild-goose, the whistling wings of teal, and all the other 
sounds and cries of the long-absent inhabitants of the 
marshes, gave life and animation to the scene. 

Often has nature been described as falling asleep in the 
arms of winter, and awaking at the touch of spring ; but 
nowhere is this simile so strikingly illustrated as in these 
hyperborean climes, where, for eight long silent months, 
nature falls into a slumber so deep and unbroken that 
death seems a fitter simile than sleep, and then bursts 
into a life so bright, so joyous, so teeming with animal 
and vegetable vitality, and, especially when contrasted 
with her previous torpidity, so noisy, that awakening 
from sleep gives no adequate idea of the change. 

Now was the time that our guns were cleaned with 
peculiar care, and regarded with a sort of brotherly affec- 
tion. Not that we despised the sports of winter, but we 
infinitely preferred those of spring. 

Young Crusty and I were inseparable companions ; we 
had slept in the same room, hunted over the same ground, 
and scribbled at the same desk, during the whole winter, 
and now we purchased a small hunting canoe from an 
Indian, for the purpose of roaming about together in 
spring. Our excursions were always amusing; and as a 
description of one of them may perhaps prove interesting 
to the reader, I shall narrate 



HUDSON'S BAY. 159 



A CANOE EXCURSION ON THE SHORES OF HUDSON'S 
BAY. 

It is needless to say that the day we chose was fine ; 
that the sun shone brightly ; that the curling eddies of 
the river smiled sweetly ; that the jagged pinnacles of 
the blocks of ice along shore, which had not yet^ melte^, 
sparkled brilliantly ; that the fresh green fohage of the 
trees contrasted oddly with these white masses ; that 
Crusty and I shouldered our canoe between us, after hav- 
ing placed our guns, &c., in it, and walked lightly down 
to the river bank under our burden. It is needless, I say, 
to describe all this minutely, as it would be unnecessary 
waste of pen, ink, and paper. It is sufficient to say, that 
we were soon out in the middle of the stream, floating 
gently down the current towards the Point of Marsh, 
which was to be the scene of our exploits. 

The day was indeed beautiful, and so very calm and 
still, that the glassy water reflected every little cloud in 
the sky ; and on the seaward horizon everything was 
quivering and magically turned upside down — islands, 
trees, icebergs, and all ! A sohtary gull, which stood not 
far off upon a stone, looked so preposterously huge from 
the same atmospherical cause, that I would have laughed 
immoderately, had I had energy to do so ; but I was too 
much wrapped in placid enjoyment of the scene to give 
way to boisterous mirth. The air was so calm that the 
plaintive cries of thousands of wild-fowl which covered 
the Point of Marsh struck faintly on our ears. "Ah! " 
thought I ! — but I need not say what I thought. I grasped 
my powder-flask and shook it — it was full, crammed full ! 
I felt my shot-belt — it was fat, very fat, bursting with 
shot ! Our two guns lay side by side, vying in brightness ; 



160 HUDSON'S BAY. 

their flints quite new and sharp, and standing np in a 
lively wide-awake sort of way, as much as to say, " If you 
do not let me go, I'll go bang off by myself! " Happiness 
is sometimes too strong to be enjoyed quietly ; and Crusty 
and I, feeling that we could keep it dowai no longer, burst 
simultaneously into a yell that rent the air, and seizing 
the paddles, made our light canoe spring over the water, 
^vhile we vented our feehng in a lively song, which, reach- 
ing the astonished ears of the afore-mentioned preposter- 
ously large gull, caused its precipitate departure. 

In half an hour we reached the Point ; dragged the 
canoe above high-water mark ; shouldered our guns, and, 
with long strides, proceeded over the swamp in search 
of game. 

We had little doubt of having good sport, for the whole 
point away to the horizon was teeming with ducks and 
plover. We had scarcely gone a hundred yards ere a 
large widgeon rose from behind a bush, and Crusty, who 
was in advance, brought it down. As we plodded on, the 
faint cry of a wild-goose caused us to squat down sud- 
denly behind a neighboring bush, from which retreat w^e 
gazed round to see where our friends were. Another cry 
from behind attracted our attention ; and far away on the 
horizon we saw a large flock of geese flying in a mathe- 
matically correct triangle. Now, although far out of shot, 
and almost out of sight, we did not despair of getting one 
of these birds ; for, by imitating their cry, there w^as a 
possibility of attracting them towards us. Geese often 
answer to a call in this way, if well imitated, particularly 
in spring, as they imagine that their friends have found a 
good feeding-place, and wish them to alight. Knowing 
this. Crusty and I continued in our squatting position — 
utterly unmindful, in the excitement of the moment, of 



HUDSON'S BAY. 161 

the fact that the water of the swamp lay in the same 
proximity to onr persons as a chair does when we sit 
clown on it — and commenced to yell and scream vocifer- 
ously in imitation of geese ; for which, doubtless, many 
people unacquainted with our purpose would have taken 
us. At first our call seemed to make no impression on 
them ; but gradually they bent into a curve, and, sweeping 
round in a long circle, came nearer to us, while we con- 
tinued to shout at the top of our voices. How they ever 
mistook our bad imitation of the cry for the voices of real 
geese, I cannot tell — probably they thought we had colds 
or sore throats ; at any rate they came nearer and nearer, 
screaming to us in return, till at last they ceased to flap 
their wings, and sailed slowly over the bush behind which 
we were ensconced, with their long necks stretched straight 
out, and their heads a little to one side, looking down for 
their friends. Upon discovering their mistake, and be- 
holding two human beings instead of geese within a few 
yards of them, the sensation created among them was tre- 
mendous, and the racket they kicked up in trying to fly 
from us was terrific ; but it was too late. The moment 
we saw that they had discovered us, our guns poured forth 
their contents, and two out of the flock fell with a lumber- 
ing smash upon the ground, while a third went off 
wounded, and after wavering in its flight for a little sank 
slowly to the ground. 

Having bagged our game, we proceeded, and ere long 
filled our bags with ducks, geese, and plover. Towards 
the afternoon we arrived at a tent belonging to an old 
Indian called Morris. With this dingy gentleman we 
agreed to dine, and accordingly bent our steps towards 
his habitation. Here we found the old Indian and his 
wife squatting down on the floor and wreathed in smoke 
11 



162 HUDSON'S BAY. 

partly from the wood fire wliicli burned in the middle of 
the tent, and partly from the tobacco-pipes stuck in their 
respective mouths. Old Morris was engaged in prepar- 
ing a kettle of pea-soup, in which were boiled several 
plover, and a large white owl ; which latter, when lifted 
out of the pot, looked so very like a skinned baby that we 
could scarcely believe they were not guilt}^ of cannibalism. 
His wife was engaged in ornamenting a pair of mocca- 
sins with dyed quills. On our entrance, the old man re- 
moved his pipe, and cast an inquiring glance into the soup 
kettle ; this apparently gave him immense satisfaction, as 
he turned to us with a smiling countenance, and remarked 
(for he could speak capital English, having spent the most 
of his life near York Factory) that " duck plenty, but he 
too ^old to shoot much ; obliged to heat howV This we 
agreed was uncommonly hard, and after presenting him 
with several ducks and a goose, proposed an inspection of 
the contents of the kettle, which being agreed to, we de- 
molished nearly half of the soup, and left him and his wife 
to "/ieat" the"Aowl." 

After resting an hour with this hospitable fellow, we 
departed, to prepare our encampment ere it became dark, 
as we intended passing the night in the swamps, under 
our canoe. Near the tent we passed a fox-trap set on the 
top of a pole, and, on inquiring, found that this was the 
machine in which Old Morris caught his " /^owls." The 
white owl is a very large and beautiful bird, sometimes 
nearly as large as a swan. I shot one which measured 
five feet three inches across the wings, when expanded. 
They are in the habit of alighting upon the tops of 
blighted trees, and poles of any kind, which hap- 
pen to stand conspicuously apart from the forest-trees, 
for the purpose, probably, of watching for mice and little 



HUDSON'S BAY. 163 

birds, on wliicli they prey. Taking advantage of this 
habit, the Indian plants his trap on the top of a bare tree, 
so that, when the owl alights, it is generally caught by 
the legs. 

Our walk back to the place where we had left the 
canoe was very exhausting, as we had nearly tired our- 
selves out before thinking of returning. This is very 
often the case with eager sportsmen, as they follow the 
game till quite exhausted, and only then it strikes them 
that they have got as long a walk back as they had in 
going out. I recollect this happening once to myself I 
had walked so far away into the forest after wild-fowl, 
that I forgot time and distance in the ardor of the pursuit, 
and only thought of returning when quite knocked up. 
The walk back was truly wretched. I was obliged to 
rest every ten minutes, as, besides being tired, I became 
faint from hunger. On the way I stumbled on the nest 
of a plover, with one egg in it. This was a great acqui- 
sition ; so seating myself on a stone, I made my dinner 
of it raw. Being very small, it did not do me much good, 
but it inspired me with courage ; and, making a last effort, 
I reached the encampment in a very unenviable state of 
exhaustion. 

After an hour's walk. Crusty and I arrived at the place 
where we left the canoe. 

Our first care was to select a dry spot whereon to sleep, 
which was not an easy matter in such a swampy place. 
We found one at last, however, under the shelter of a 
small willow bush. Thither we dragged the canoe, and 
turned it bottom up, intending to creep in below it when 
we retired to rest. After a long search on the sea-shore, 
we found a sufficiency of driftwood to make a fire, which 
we carried up to the encampment, and placed in a heap 



164 HUDSON'S BAY. 

in front of the canoe. This was soon kindled by means 
of a flint and steel, and the forked flames began in a few- 
minutes to rise and leap around the branches, throwing 
the swampy Point into deepers hadow, making the sea 
look cold and black, and the ice upon its surface ghost- 
like. The interior of our inverted canoe looked really 
quite cheerful and snug, under the influence of the fire's 
rosy light. And when we had spread our blankets under 
it, plucked and cleaned two of the fattest ducks, and stuck 
them on sticks before the blaze to roast, we agreed that 
there were worse things in nature than an encampment 
in the swamps. 

Ere long the night became pitchy dark ; but although 
we could see nothing, yet ever and anon the whisthng 
wings of ducks became audible, as they passed in flocks 
overhead. So often did they pass in this way, that at 
last I was tempted to try to get a shot at them, notwith- 
standing the apparent hopelessness of such an attempt. 
Seizing my gun, and leaving strict injunctions with Crusty 
to attend to the roasting of my widgeon, I sallied forth, 
and, after getting beyond the light of the fire, endeavored 
to peer through the gloom. Nothing was to be seen, 
however. Flocks of ducks were passing quite near, for 
I heard their wings whizzing as they flew, but they were 
quite invisible ; so at last, becoming tired of standing up 
to my knees in water, I pointed my gun at random at the 
next flock that passed, and fired. After the shot, I lis- 
tened intently for a few seconds, and the next moment a 
splash in the water apprised me that the shot had taken 
effect. After a long search I found the bird, and re- 
turned to my friend Crusty, whom I threw into a state 
of consternation by pitching the dead duck into his lap 
as he sat winking and rubbinor his hands before the warm 
blaze. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 165 

Supper in these out-of-the-waj regions is never long in 
the eating, and on the present occasion we finished it very 
quickly, being both hungry and fatigued. That over, we 
heaped fresh logs upon the fire, wrapped our green 
blankets round us, and, nestling close together, as much 
underneath our canoe as possible, courted the drowsy 
god. In this courtship I was unsuccessful for some time, 
and lay gazing on the flickering flames of the watch-fire, 
which illuminated the grass of the marsh a little distance 
round, and listening, in a sort of dreamy felicity, to the 
occasional cry of a wakeful plover, or starting suddenly 
at the flapping wings of a huge owl, which, attracted by 
the light of our fire, wheeled slowly round, gazing on us 
in a kind of solemn astonishment, till, scared by the 
sounds that proceeded from Crusty's nasal organ, it flew 
with a scream into the dark night air; and again all 
was silent save the protracted, solemn, sweeping boom of 
the distant weaves, as they rolled at long intervals upon 
the sea-shore. During the night we were awakened by 
a shower of rain faUing upon our feet, and as much of 
our legs as the canoe was incapable of protecting. Pull- 
ing them up more under shelter, at the expense of ex- 
posing our knees and elbows — for the canoe could not 
completely cover us — we each gave a mournful grunt, 
and dropped off again.. 

Morning broke with unclouded splendor, and we rose 
from our grassy couch with alacrity to resume our sport ; 
but I will not again drag my patient reader through the 
Point of Marsh. 

In the afternoon, having spent our ammunition, we 
launched our light canoe, and after an hour's paddle up 
the river, arrived, laden with game and splashed with 
mud, at York Factory. 



166 HUDSON'S BAY. 



CHAPTER IX. 

VOYAGE FROM YORK FACTORY TO NORWAY HOUSE IN A SMALL 
INDIAN CANOE. 

ON the afternoon of the 20th of June, 1845, I sat in 
my room at York Fort, musing on the probability of 
my being despatched to some other part of the Com- 
pany's wide dominions. 

The season approached when changes from one part 
of the country to another might be expected, and boats 
began to arrive from the interior. Two years of fun arid 
frolic had I spent on the coast, and I was beginning to 
wish to be sent once more upon my travels, particularly 
as the busy season was about to commence, and the hot 
weather to set in. 

As I sat cogitating, my brother scribblers called me to 
join them in a short promenade upon the wharf, prepara- 
tory to resuming our pens. Just as we reached it, a 
small Indian canoe from the interior swept round the 
Point above the factory, and came rapidly forward, the 
sparkling water foaming past her sharp bow as she made 
towards the landing. 

At almost any time an arrival causes a great deal 
of interest in this out-of-the-way place ; but an arrival 
of this sort — ^for the canoe was evidently an express — 
threw us into ^ fever of excitement, which was greatly 
increased when we found that it contained despatches from 
head-quarters ; and many speculative remarks passed 



HUDSON'S BAY. 167 

among us as we hurried up to our hall, there to wait in 
anxious expectation for a letter or an order to appear in- 
stanter before Mr. Grave. Our patience was severely 
tried, however, and we began to think there was no news 
at all, when Gibeault, the butler, turned the corner, and 
came towards our door. We immediately rushed towards 
it in breathless expectation, and a row of eager faces 
appeared as he walked slowly up and said, " Mr. Grave 
wishes to see Mr. Ballantyne immediately." On hearing 
this I assumed an appearance of calm indifference I 
was far from feehng, put on my cap, and obeyed the 
order. 

Upon entering Mr. Grave's presence, he received me 
with a benign, patronizing air, and requested me to be 
seated. He then went on to inform me that letters had 
just arrived, requesting that I might be sent off immedi- 
ately to Norway House, where I should be enlightened 
as to my ultimate destination. This piece of news I 
received with mingled surprise and delight, at the same 
time exclaiming " Indeed ! " with peculiar emphasis ; and 
then, becoming suddenly aware of the impropriety of the 
expression, I endeavored to follow it up with a look of 
sorrow at the prospect of leaving my friends, combined 
with resignation to the will of the Honorable Hudson's 
Bay Company, in which attempt I failed most signally. 
After receiving orders to prepare for an immediate start, 
I rushed out in a state of high excitement, to acquaint 
my comrades with my good fortune. On entering the 
hall, I found them as anxious to know where I was des- 
tined to vegetate next winter, as they before had been to 
learn who was going off. Having satisfied them on this 
point, or rather told them as much as I knew myself re- 
garding it, I proceeded to pack up. 



168 HUDSON'S BAY. 

It happened just at this time that a brigade of inland 
boats was on the eve of starting for the distant regions 
of the interior ; and as the httle canoe, destined to carry 
myself, was much too small to take such an unwieldy 
article as my " cassette," I gladly availed myself of the 
opportunity to forward it by the boats, as they would 
have to pass Norway House en route. It would be end- 
less to detail how I spent the next three days ; how I 
never appeared in public without walking very fast, as if 
pressed with a superhuman amount of business ; how I 
rummaged about here and there, seeing that everything 
was prepared ; looking vastly important, and thinking I 
was immensely busy, when in reality I was doing next to 
nothing. I shall, therefore, without further preface, pro- 
ceed to describe my travelling equipments. 

The canoe in which I and two Indians were to travel 
from York Factory to Norway House, a distance of nearly 
three hundred miles, measured between five and six 
yards long, by two feet and a half broad in the middle, 
tapering from thence to nothing at each end. It was 
made of birch bark, and could with great ease be carried 
by one man. In this we were to embark, with ten days' 
provisions for three men, three blankets, three small 
bundles, and a little travelling case belonging to myself; 
besides three paddles wherewith to propel us forward, a 
tin kettle for cooking, and an iron one for boiling water. 
Our craft being too small to permit my taking the usual 
allowance of what are called luxuries, I determined to 
take potluck with my men, so that our existence for the 
next eight or ten days was to depend upon the nutritive 
properties contained in a few pounds of pemmican, a little 
biscuit, one pound of butter, and a very small quantity of 
tea and sugar. With all this, in addition to ourselves, 
we calculated upon being pretty deeply laden. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 169 

My men were of the tribe called Swampy Crees, and 
truly, to judge merely from appearance, they would have 
been the very last I should have picked out to travel 
with ; for one was old, apparently upwards of fifty, and 
the other, though young, was a cripple. Nevertheless, 
tliey were good hard-working men, as I afterwards ex- 
perienced. I did not take a tent with me, our craft 
requiring to be as light as possible, but I rolled up a 
mosquito-net in my blanket, that being a light affair of 
gauze, capable of compression into very small compass. 
Such were our equipments ; and on the 23d of June we 
started for the interior. 

A melancholy feeling came over me as I turned and 
looked for the last time upon York Factory, where I had 
spent so many happy days with the young men who now 
stood waving their handkerchiefs from the wharf Mr. 
Grave, too, stood among them, and as I looked on his 
benevolent manly countenance, I felt that I should ever 
remember with gratitude his kindness to me while we 
resided together on the shores of Hudson's Bay. A few 
minutes more, and the fort was hid from my sight for- 
ever. 

My disposition is not a sorrowful one ; I never did and 
never could remain long in a melancholy mood, which will 
account for the state of feeling I enjoyed half an hour 
after losing sight of my late home. The day was fine, 
and I began to anticipate a pleasant journey, and to spec- 
ulate as to what part of the country I might be sent to. 
The whole wide continent of North America was now 
open to the excursive flights of my imagination, as there 
was a possibility of my being sent to any one of the 
numerous stations in the extensive territories of the Hud- 
son's Bay Company. Sometimes I fancied myself rang- 



170 HUDSON'S BAY. 

ing through the wild district of Mackenzie's River, 
admiring the scenery described by Franklin and Back 
in their travels of discovery ; and anon, as the tales of 
my companions occurred to me, I was bounding over the 
prairies of the Saskatchewan in chase of the buffalo, or 
descending the rapid waters of the Columbia to the 
Pacific Ocean. Again my fancy wandered, and I imag- 
ined myself hunting the grizzly bear in the woods of 
Athabasca, when a heavy lurch of the canoe awakened 
me to the fact that I was only ascending the sluggish 
waters of Hayes River. 

The banks of the river were covered with huge blocks 
of ice, and scarcely a leaf had as yet made its appear- 
ance. Not a bird was to be seen, except a few crows 
and whisky-jacks, which chattered among the branches of 
the trees, and Nature appeared as if undecided whether 
or not she should take another nap, ere she bedecked her- 
self in the garments of spring. My Indians paddled 
slowly against the stream, and I lay back, with a leg 
cocked over each gunwale, watching the sombre pines as 
they dropped slowly astern. On our way we passed two 
landslips, which encroached a good deal on the river, each 
forming a small rapid round its base. The trees with 
which they had formerly been clothed were now scat- 
tered about in chaotic confusion, leafless, and covered 
with mud ; some more than half buried, and others stand- 
ing with their roots in the air. There is a tradition 
among the natives that a whole camp of Indians was 
overwhelmed in the falling of these slips. 

A good deal of danger is incurred in passing up these 
rivers, owing to the number of small landslips which 
occur annually. The banks, behig principally composed 
of sandy clay, are loosened, and rendered almost fluid in 



HUDSON'S BAY. 171 

many places, upon the melting of the snow in spring ; 
and the ice during the general disruption tears away 
large masses of the lower part of the banks, which ren- 
ders the superincumbent clay liable to slip, upon the first 
heavy shower of rain, with considerable force into the 
stream. 

About sixteen miles from York Factory we ran against 
a stone, and tore a small hole in the bottom of our canoe. 
This obliged us to put ashore immediately, when I had an 
opportunity of watching the swiftness and dexterity of 
the Indians in repairing the damage. A small hole, 
about three inches long and one inch wide, had been torn 
in the bottom of the canoe, through which the water 
squirted with considerable rapidity. Into this hole they 
fitted a piece of bark, sewed it with wattape (the fibrous 
roots of the pine-tree), made a small fire, melted gum, 
and plastered the place so as to be effectually water-tight, 
all in about the space of an hour. 

During the day we passed a brigade of boats bound 
for the factory ; but being too far off, and in a rapid part 
of the river, we did not hail them. About nine o'clock 
we put ashore for the night, having travelled nearly 
twenty miles. The weather was pleasantly cool, so that 
we were free from mosquitos. The spot we chose for 
our encampment was on the edge of a high bank, being 
the only place within three miles where we could carry 
up our provisions ; and even here the ascent was bad 
enough ; but, after we were up, the top proved a good 
spot, covered with soft moss, and well sheltered by trees 
and bushes. A brook of fresh water rippled at the foot 
of the bank, and a few decayed trees afforded us ex- 
cellent firewood. Here, then, in the bosom of the wil- " 
derness, with the silvery light of the moon for our lamp. 



172 , HUDSON'S BAY. 

aud serenaded by a solitary owl, we made our first 
bivouac. Suj^per was neatly laid out on an oil-cloth, 
spread before a blazing fire. A huge junk of pemmican 
graced the centre of our rustic table, flanked by a small 
pile of ship's biscuit on one side, and a. lump of salt 
butter on the other ; while a large iron kettle filled with 
hot water, slightly flavored with tea-leaves, brought up 
the rear. Two tin pots and a tumbler performed out- 
post duty, and were soon smoking full of warm tea. 
We made an excellent supper, after which the Indians 
proceeded to solace themselves with a whiff, while I lay 
on my blanket enjoying the warmth of the fire, and ad- 
miring the apparently extreme felicity of the men, as 
they sat, with half-closed eyes, watching the smoke curl- 
ing in snowy wreaths from their pipes, and varying their 
employment now and then with a pull at the tin pots, 
which seemed to afford them extreme satisfaction. In 
this manner we lay till the moon waned ; and the owl 
having finished his overture, we rolled ourselves in our 
blankets, and w^atched the twinkling stars till sleep closed 
our eyelids. 

Next morning, between two and three o'clock, we be- 
gan to stretch our limbs, and after a few ill-humored 
grunts, prepared for a start. The morning w^as foggy 
when we embarked, and once more began to ascend the 
stream. Everything was obscure and indistinct till about 
six o'clock, when the powerful rays of the rising sun dis- 
pelled the mist, and Nature was herself again. A good 
deal of ice still lined the shores ; but what astonished me 
most was the advanced state of vegetation apparent as 
we proceeded inland. When we left York Factory, not 
a leaf had been visible ; but here, though only thirty 
miles inland, the trees, and more particularly the bushes, 



HUDSON'S BAY. 173 

were well covered with beautiful light green foliage, 
which appeared to me quite delightful, after the patches 
of snow and leafless willows on the shores of Hudson's 
Bay. 

At eight o'clock we put ashore for breakfast, which 
was just a repetition of the supper of the preceding 
night, with this exception, that we discussed it a little 
more hurriedly, and then proceeded on our way. 

Shortly afterwards we met a small canoe, about the 
size of our own, which contained a postmaster and two 
Indians, on their way to York Factory with a few packs 
of otters. After five minutes' conversation we parted, 
and were soon out of sight of each other. The day, 
which had hitherto been agreeable, now became oppres- 
sively sultry; not a breath of wind ruffled the water; 
and as the sun shone down with intense heat from a 
perfectly cloudless sky, it became almost insufferable. 
I tried all methods to cool myself, by lying in every posi- 
tion I could think of, sometimes even hanging both legs 
and arms over the sides of the canoe and trailing them 
through the water. I had a racking headache, and, to 
add to my misery, as the sun sank, the mosquitos rose 
and bit ferociously. The Indians, however, did not ap- 
pear to suffer much, being accustomed, no doubt, to these 
little annoyances, much in the same way as eels are to 
being skinned. 

In the afternoon we arrived at the forks of Hayes and 
Steel Elvers, and ascended the latter, till the increasing 
darkness and our quickening appetites reminded us that 
it was time to put ashore. We made a hearty su^^per, 
having eaten nothing since breakfast ; dinner, while 
travelling in a light canoe, being considered quite super- 
fluous. 



174 HUDSON'S BAY. 

Our persevering foes, the mosquitos, now thought it 
high time to make their supper also, and attacked us in 
myriads whenever we dared to venture near the woods ; 
so we were fain to sleep as best we could on the open 
beach, without any fire, being much too warm for that ; 
but even there they found us out, and most effectually 
prevented us from sleeping. 

On the morning of the 25th, we arose very little re- 
freshed by our short nap, and continued our journey. 
The weather was still warm, but a little more bearable, 
owing to a light grateful breeze that came down the river. 
After breakfast, which we took at the usual hour, and in 
the usual way, while proceeding slowly up the current, 
we descried, on rounding a point, a brigade of boats close 
to the bank, on the opposite side of the river ; so we em- 
barked our man, who was tracking us up with a line, (the 
current being too rapid for the continued use of the pad- 
dle,) and crossed over to see who they were. On land- 
ing, we found it was the Norway House brigade, in 
charge of George Kippling, a Red River settler. He 
shook hands with us, and then commenced an animated 
discourse with my two men in the Indian language, which 
being perfectly unintelligible to me, I amused myself by 
watching the operations of the men, who were in the act 
of cooking breakfast. 

Nothing can be more picturesque than a band of voya- 
geurs breakfasting on the banks of a pretty river. The 
spot they had chosen was a little above the Burnt wood 
Creek, on a projecting grassy point, pretty clear of under- 
wood. Each boat's crew, of which there. were three, had 
a fire to itself, and over these fires were placed gypsy-like 
tilpods, from which huge tin kettles depended, and above 
them hovered three volunteer cooks, who were employed 



HUDSON'S BAY. 175 

Stirring their contents with persevering industry. The 
curling wreaths of smoke formed a black cloud among the 
numerous fleecy ones in the blue sky, while all around, in 
every imaginable attitude, sat, stood, and reclined, the sun- 
burnt, savage-looking half-breeds, chatting, laughing, and 
smoking in perfect happiness. They were all dressed 
ahke, in light cloth capotes with hoods, corduroy trousers, 
striped shirts open in front, with cotton kerchiefs tied 
sailor-fashion loosely round their swarthy necks. A 
scarlet worsted belt strapped each man's coat tightly to 
his body, and Indian moccasins defended their feet. 
Their head-dresses were as various as fanciful — some 
wore caps of coarse cloth, others colored handkerchiefs, 
twisted turban-fashion round their heads ; and one or 
two, who might be looked upon as voyageur fops, sported 
black beaver hats covered so plenteously with bullion 
tassels and feathers as to be scarcely recognizable. 

The breakfast consisted solely of pemmican and flour, 
boiled into the sort of thick soup dignified by the name 
of robbiboo. As might be expected, it is not a very deli- 
cate dish, but is, nevertheless, exceedingly nutritious ; and 
those who have lived long in the country, particularly the 
Canadians, are very fond of it. I think, however, that 
another of their dishes, composed of the same materials, 
but fried instead of boiled, is much superior to it. They 
call it richeau ; it is uncommonly rich, and very little 
will suffice for an ordinary man. 

After staying about a quarter of an hour, chatting with 
Kippling about the good folks of Red River and Nor- 
way House, we took our departure just as they com- 
menced the first vigorous attack upon the capacious ket- 
tles of robbiboo. 

Shortly after, we arrived at the mouth of Hill River, 



176 HUDSON'S BAY. 

which we began to ascend. The face of the country 
was now greatly changed, and it was evident that here 
spring had long ago dethroned winter. The banks of the 
river were covered from top to bottom with the most lux- 
uriant foliage, while dark clumps of spruce-fir varied and 
improved the landscape. In many places the banks, 
which appeared to be upwards of a hundred feet high, 
ran almost perpendicularly down to the water's edge, 
perfectly devoid of vegetation, except at the top, where 
large trees overhung the precipice, some clinging by their 
roots and ready to fall. In other places the banks sloped 
from nearly the same height, gradually, and with slight 
undulations, down to the stream, thickly covered with 
vegetation, and teeming with little birds, whose merry 
voices, warbling a cheerful welcome to the opening buds, 
greatly enhanced the pleasures of the scene. 

We soon began to experience great difficulty in track- 
ing the canoe against the rapid stream that now opposed 
us. From the steepness of the banks in some places, 
and their being clothed with thick willows in others, it 
became a slow and fatiguing process for our men to drag 
us against the strong current, and sometimes the poor 
Indians had to cling like flies against nearly perpendicu- 
lar cliffs of slippery clay, whilst at others they tore their 
way through almost impervious bushes. They relieved 
each other by turns every hour at this work, the one 
steering the canoe while the other tracked, and they took 
no rest during the whole day, except when at breakfast. 
Indeed, any proposal to do so would have been received 
by them with great contempt, as a very improper and 
useless waste of time. 

When the track happened to be at all passable, I used 
to get out and walk, to relieve them a little, as well as to 



HUDSON'S BAY. 177 

stretch my cramped limbs, it being almost impossible, 
when there is any luggage in a small Indian canoe, to 
attain a comfortable position. 

At sunset we put ashore for the night, on a point cov- 
ered with a great number of lopstichs. These are tall 
pine-trees, denuded of their lower branches, a small tuft 
being left at the top. They are generally made to serve 
as landmarks, and sometimes the voycigeurs make them in 
honor of gentlemen who happen to be travelling for the 
first time along the route, and those trees are chosen, 
which from their being on elevated ground, are conspicu- 
ous objects. The traveller for whom they are made is 
always expected to acknowledge his sense of the honor 
conferred upon him by presenting the boat's crew with a 
pint of grog, either on the spot or at the first establish- 
ment they meet with. He is then considered as having 
paid for his footing, and may ever afterwards pass scot- 
free. 

We soon had our encampment prepared, and the fire 
blazing ; but hundreds of mosquitos were, as usual, 
awaiting our arrival, and we found it utterly impossible 
to sup, so fiercely did they attack us. We at last went 
to leeward of the fire, and devoured it hastily in the 
smoke, preferring to risk being suffocated or smoke-dried 
to being eaten up alive! It was certainly amusing to 
see us rush into the thick smoke, bolt a few mouthfuls 
of pemmican, and then rush out again for fresh air ; our 
hands swinging like the sails of a windmill round our 
heads, while every now and then, as a mosquito fastened 
on a tender part, we gave ourselves a resounding slap on 
the side of the head, which, had it come from the hand 
of another, would certainly have raised in us a most 
pugnacious spirit of resentment. In this manner we 

12 



178 HUDSON'S BAY. 

continued rushing out of and into the smoke, till supper 
was finished, and then prepared for sleep. This time, 
however, I was determined not to be tormented ; so I cut 
four stakes, drove them into the ground, and threw over 
them my gauze mosquito-net, previously making a small 
fire, with wet grass on it, to raise a smoke and prevent 
intruders from entering while I was in the act of putting 
it on ; then, cautiously raising one end, I bolted in after 
the most approved harlequinian style, leaving my dis- 
comfited tormentors wondering at the audacity of a man 
who could snore in a state of unconcerned felicity in the 
very midst of the enemy's camp. 

On the following morning we started at an early hour. 
The day was dehghtfully cool, and mosquitos were scarce, 
so that we felt considerably comfortable as we glided qui- 
etly up the current. In this way we proceeded till after 
breakfast, when we came in sight of the first portage, on 
which we landed. In a surprisingly short time our lug- 
gage, &c., was pitched ashore, and the canoe carried over 
by the Indians, while I followed with some of the bag- 
gage ; and in half an hour we were ready to start from 
the upper end of the portage. While carrying across 
the last few articles, one of the Indians killed two fish 
called suckers, which they boiled on the spot and de- 
voured immediately. 

Towards sunset we paddled quietly up to the " White 
Mud Portage," where there is a fall, of about seven or 
eight feet, of extreme rapidity, shooting over the edge in 
an arch of solid water, which falls hissing and curling 
into the stream below. Here we intended to encamp. 
As we approached the cataract, a boat suddenly appeared 
on the top of it, and shot with the speed of lightning 
into the boiling water beneath, its reckless crew shouting, 



HUDSON'S BAY. 179 

pulling, laughing, and hallooing, as it swept round a small 
point at the foot of the fall, and ran aground in a bay or 
hollow, where the eddying water, still covered with 
patches of foam after its mighty leap, floated quietly 
round the shore. They had scarcely landed, when 
another boat appeared on the brink, and hovering for an 
instant, as if to prepare itself for the leap, flashed 
through the water, and the next moment was aground 
beside the first. In this manner seven boats successively 
ran the fall, and grounded in the bay. 

Upon our arriving, we found them to be a part of the 
Saskatchewan brigade, on its way to the common point 
of rendezvous, York Factory. It was in charge of two 
friends of mine; so I accosted them, without introducing 
myself, and chatted for some time about the occurrences 
of the voyage. They appeared a little disconcerted, 
however, and looked very earnestly at me two or three 
times. At last, they confessed they had forgotten me 
altogether ! And indeed, it was no wonder, for the sun 
had burned me nearly as black as my Indian friends, 
while my dress consisted of a blue capote, sadly singed 
with the fire — a straw hat, whose shape, from exposure 
and bad usage, was utterly indescribable — a pair of cor- 
duroys, and Indian moccasins ; which so metamorphosed 
me, that my friends, who perfectly recollected me the mo- 
ment I mentioned my name, might have remained in igno- 
rance to this day had I not enlightened them on the subject. 

After supper one of these gentlemen offered me a 
share of his tent, and we turned in together, but not to 
sleep; for we continued gossiping till long after the 
noisy voices of the men had ceased to disturb the tran- 
quillity of night. 

At the first peep of day our ears were saluted with 



180 HUDSON'S BAY. 

the UvSual unpleasant sound of " Leve ! leve !■ leve / " issu- 
ing from the leathern throat of the guide. Now this 
same " Leve I " is in my ears a peculiarly harsh and dis- 
agreeable word, being associated with frosty mornings, 
uncomfortable beds, and getting up in the dark before 
half enough of sleep has been obtained. The way in 
which it is uttered, too, is particularly exasperating ; and 
often, when partially awakened by a stump boring a hole 
in my side, have I listened with dread to hear the de- 
tested sound, and then, fancying it must surely be too 
early to rise, have fallen gently over on the other side, 
when a low muffled sound, as if some one were throwing 
oiF his blanket, would strike upon my ear, then a cough 
or grunt, and finally, as if from the bowels of the earth, 
a low and scarcely audible " Leve / leve / " would break 
the universal stillness, growing rapidly louder, " Leve ! 
leve ! leve ! " and louder, " Leve ! leve ! " till at last a 
final stentorian " Leve ! leve I leve ! " brought the hate- 
ful sound to a close, and was succeeded by a confused col- 
lection of grunts, groans, coughs, grumbles, and sneezes, 
from the unfortunate sleepers thus rudely roused from 
their slumbers. The disinclination to rise, however, was 
soon overcome ; and up we got, merry as larks, the men 
loading their boats, while I and my Indians carried our 
luggage, &c., over the portage. 

Our troubles now commenced ; the longest and most 
difficult part of the route lay before us, and we prepared 
for a day of toil. Far as the eye could reach, the river 
was white with boiling rapids and foaming cascades, 
which, though small, were much too large to ascend, and 
consequently we were obliged to make portages at almost 
every two or three hundred yards. Rapid after rapid 
was surmounted; yet still, as we rounded every point 



HUDSON'S BAY. 181 

•» 
and curve, rapids and falls rose, in apparently endless 

succession, before our wearied eyes. My Indians, how- 
ever, knew exactly the number they had to ascend, so 
they set themselves manfully to the task. I could not 
help admiring the dexterous way in which they guided 
the canoe among the rapids. Upon arriving at one, the 
old Indian, who always sat in the bow, (this being the 
principal seat in canoe travelling,) rose up on his knees 
and stretched out his neck to take a look before com- 
mencing the attempt ; and then, sinking down again, seized 
his paddle, and pointing signiJScantly to the chaos of boil- 
ing waters that rushed swiftly past us, (thus indicating 
the route he intended to pursue to his partner in the 
stern,) dashed into the stream. At first we were borne 
down with the speed of lightning, while the water hissed 
and boiled to within an inch of the gunwale, and a per- 
son unaccustomed to such navigation would have thought 
it folly our attempting to ascend ; but a second glance 
would prove that our Indians had not acted rashly. In 
the centre of the impetuous current a large rock rose 
above the surface, and from its lower end a long eddy 
ran like the tail of a comet for about twenty yards down 
the river. It was just opposite this rock that we en- 
tered the rapid, and paddled for it with all our might. 
The current, however, as I said before, swept us down ; 
and when we got to the middle of the stream, we just 
reached the extreme point of the eddy, and after a few 
vigorous strokes of the paddles were floating quietly in 
the lee of the rock. We did not stay long, however 
— just long enough to look for another stone, and the old 
Indian soon pitched upon one a few yards higher up, but 
a good deal to one side ; so, dipping our paddles once 
more, we pushed out into the stream again, and soon 



182 HUDSON'S BAY. 

• 
reached the second rock. In this way, yard by yard, 

did we ascend for miles, sometimes scarcely gaining a 
foot in a minute, and at others, as a favoring bay or 
curve presented a long piece of smooth water, advancing 
more rapidly. In fact, our progress could not be likened 
to anything more aptly than to the ascent of a salmon as 
he darts rapidly from eddy to eddy, taking advantage of 
every stone and hollow that he finds ; and the simile 
may be still further carried out ; for, as the salmon is 
sometimes driven back tail foremost in attempting to leap 
a fall, so were we, in a similar attempt, driven back by 
the overpowering force of the water. 

It happened thus : we had surmounted a good many 
rapids, and made a few portages, when we arrived at a 
perpendicular fall of about two feet in height, but from 
the rapidity of the current it formed only a very steep 
shoot. Here the Indians paused to breathe, and seemed 
to doubt the possibility of ascent ; however, after a little 
conversation on the subject, they determined to try it, 
and got out their poles for the purpose, (poles being al- 
ways used when the current is too strong for the pad- 
dles.) We now made a dash, and turning the bow to 
the current, the Indians fixed their poles firmly in the 
ground, while the water rushed like a mill-race past us. 
They then pushed forward, one keeping his pole fixed 
while the other refixed his a little more ahead. In this 
way we advanced inch by inch, and had almost got up — 
the water rushing past us in a thick black body, hissing 
sharply in passing the side of our canoe, which trembled 
like a reed before the powerful current — when suddenly 
the pole of the Indian in the stern slipped ; and almost 
before I knew what had happened, we were floating down 
the stream about a hundred yards below the fall. For- 



HUDSON'S BAY. 183 

tunatelj the canoe went stern foremost, so that we got 
down in safety. Had it turned round even a little in its 
descent, it would have been rolled over and over like a 
cask. Our second attempt proved more successful ; and 
after a good deal of straining and puffing we arrived at 
the top, where the sight of a longer stretch than usual of 
calm and placid water rewarded us for our exertions 
during the day. 

In passing over a portage we met the English River 
brigade ; and, after a little conversation, we parted. The 
evening was deliciously cool and serene as we glided 
quietly up the now tranquil river. Numbers of little 
islets, covered to the very edge of the rippling water with 
luxuriant vegetation, rose like emeralds from the bosom 
of the broad river, shining brightly in the rays of the 
setting sun ; sometimes so closely scattered as to veil the 
real size of the river, which, upon our again emerging 
from among them, burst upon our delighted vision a 
broad sheet of clear pellucid water, with beautiful fresh 
banks covered with foliage of every shade, from the dark 
and sombre pine to the light drooping willow ; while near 
the shore a matronly-looking duck swam solemnly along, 
casting now and then a look of warning to a numerous 
family of little yellow ducklings that frisked and gam- 
bolled in very wantonness, as if they too enjoyed and 
appreciated the beauties of the scene. Through this ter- 
restrial paradise we wended our way, till rapids again 
began to disturb the water, and a portage at last brought 
us to a stand. Here we found M'Nab, who had left 
York Factory three days before us with his brigade, just 
going to encamp ; so we also brought up for the night. 
When supper was ready, I sent an invitation to M'Nab 
to come and sup with me, which he accepted, at the same 



184 HUDSON'S BAY. 

time bringing his brother with him. The elder was a 
bluff, good-natured Red River settler, with whom I had 
become acquainted while in the colony ; and we chatted 
of bygone times and mutual- acquaintances over a cup of 
excellent tea, till long after the sun had gone down, leav- 
ing the blazing camp-fires to illuminate the scene. 

Next morning we started at the same time with the 
boats ; but our little canoe soon passed them in the 
rapids, and we saw no more of them. Our way was not 
now so much impeded by rapids as it had hitherto been ; 
and by breakfast-time we had surmounted them all and 
arrived at the Dram-stone, where we put ashore for our 
morning meal. In the morning I shot a duck, being the 
first that had come within range since I left York Fac- 
tory. Ducks were very scarce, and the few that we did 
see were generally accompanied by a numerous offspring 
not much bigger than the eggs which originally con- 
tained them. While taking breakfast we were surprised 
by hearing a quick rushing sound a little above us, and 
the next moment a light canoe came sweeping round a 
point and made towards us. It was one of those called 
" north canoes," which are calculated to carry eight men 
as a crew, besides three passengers. The one now be- 
fore us was built much the same as an Indian canoe, but 
somewhat neater, and ornamented with sundry ingenious 
devices painted in gaudy colors on the bows and stern. 
It was manned by eight men and apparently one passen- 
ger, to whom I hallooed once or twice ; but they took 
me, no doubt, for an Indian, and so passed on without 
taking any notice of us. As the noble bark bounded 
quickly forward and was hid by intervening trees, I bent 
a look savoring slightly of contempt upon our little 
Indian canoe, and proceeded to finish breakfast. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 185 

A solitary north canoe, however, passing thus in si- 
lence, can give but a faint idea of the sensation felt on 
seeing a brigade of them arriving at a post after a long 
journey. It is then that they appear in wild perfection. 
The voyageurs upon such occasions are dressed in their 
best clothes ; and gaudy feathers, ribbons, and tassels 
stream in abundance from their caps and garters. 
Painted gayly, and ranged side by side, like contending 
chargers, the light canoes skim swiftly over the water, 
bounding under the vigorous and rapid strokes of the small 
but numerous paddles, while the powerful voyageurs strain 
every muscle to urge them quickly on. And while yet in 
the distance, the beautifully simple and lively yet plain- 
tive paddhng song, so well suited to the surrounding 
scenery, and so different from any other air, breaks 
sweetly on the ear ; and one reflects, with a kind of sub- 
dued and pleasing melancholy, how far the singers are 
from their native land, and how many long and weary 
days of danger and of toils will pass before they can 
rest once more in their Canadian homes. How strangely, 
too, upon their nearer approach, is this feeling changed 
for one of exultation, as the deep and manly voices swell 
in chorus over the placid waters, while a competition 
arises among them who shall first arrive ; and the canoes 
dash over the water with arrow-speed to the very edge 
of the wharf, where they come suddenly, and as by magic, 
to a pause. This is effected by each man backing water 
with his utmost force ; after which they roll their pad- 
dles on the gunwale simultaneously, enveloping them- 
selves in a shower of spray as they shake the dripping 
water from the bright vermilion blades. Truly it is an 
animating inspiriting scene the arrival of a brigade of 
light canoes. 



186 HUDSON'S BAY. 

Our route now la}^^ through a number of small lakes 
and rivers, with scarcely any current in them ; so we . 
proceeded happily on our way with the cheering prospect 
of uninterrupted travelling. We had crossed Swampy 
Lake, and after making one or two insignificant portages, 
entered Knee Lake. This body of water obtained its 
name from turning at a sharp angle near its centre, and 
stretching out in an opposite direction from its preceding 
course ; thus forming something like a knee. Late in 
the evening we encamped on one of the small islands 
with which it is here and there dotted. Nothing could 
exceed the beauty of the view we had of the lake from 
our encampment. Not a breath of wind stirred its glassy 
surface, which shone in the ruddy rays of the sun setting 
on its bosom in the distant horizon ; and I sat long upon 
the rocks admiring the lovely scene, \Vhile one of my 
Lidians filled the teakettle, and the other was busily 
engaged in skinning a minx for supper. Oar evening, 
meal was further enriched by the addition of a great 
many small gulls' eggs, which we had found on an island 
during the day, which, saving one or two that showed 
evident symptoms of being far advanced towards bird- 
hood, were excellent. 

On the following morning the scene was entirely 
changed. Dark and lowering clouds flew across the 
sky, and the wind blew furiously, with a melancholy 
moaning sound, through the trees. The lake, which the 
night before had been so calm and tranquil, was now of a 
dark leaden hue, and covered with foaming waves. How- 
ever, we determined to proceed, and launched our canoe 
accordingly ; but soon finding the wind too strong for us, 
we put ashore on a small island and breakfasted. As 
the weather moderated after breakfast, we made another 



HUDSON'S BAY. 187 

attempt to advance. Numerous islets studded the lake 
and on one of them we landed to collect gulls' eggs. Of 
these we found enough ; but among them were a number 
of little yellow gulls, chattering vociferously, and in 
terrible consternation at our approach, while the old 
ones kept uttering the most plaintive cries overhead. 
The eggs were very small, being those of a small species 
of gull which frequents those inland lakes in great num- 
bers. The wind again began to rise ; and after a little 
consultation on the subject we landed, intending to spend 
the remainder of the day on shore. 

We now, for the first time since leaving York Factory, 
prepared dinner, which we expected would be quite a 
sumptuous one, having collected a good many eggs in the 
morning ; so we set about it with alacrity. A fire was 
quickly made, the teakettle on, and a huge pot contain- 
ing upwards of a hundred eggs placed upon the fire. 
These we intended to boil hard and carry with us. Being 
very hungry, I watched the progress of dinner with much 
interest, while the Indians smoked in silence. While sit- 
ting thus, my attention was attracted by a loud whistling 
sound that greatly perplexed me, as I could not discover 
whence it proceeded. I got up once or twice to see what 
it could be, but found nothing, although it sounded as if 
close beside me. At last one of the Indians rose, and, 
standing close to the fire, bent in a very attentive attitude 
over the kettle, and, after listening a little while, took up 
one of the eggs and broke it, when out came a young gull 
with a monstrous head and no feathers, squeaking and 
chirping in a most indefatigable manner ! " So much for 
our dinner ! " thought I, as he threw the bird into the lake, 
and took out a handful of eggs, which all proved to be 
much in the same condition. The warmth of the water 



188 > HUDSON'S BAY. 

put life into the little birds, whicli, however, was speedily- 
destroyed when it began to boil. We did not despair, 
nevertheless, of finding a few good ones amongst them ; 
so, after they were well cooked, we all sat round the kettle 
and commenced operations. Some were good and others 
slightly spoiled, while many were intersected with red 
veins, but the greater part contained boiled birds. The 
Indians were not nice, however, and we managed to make 
a good dinner off them after all. 

In the afternoon the weather cleared up and the wind 
moderated, but we had scarcely got under way again 
when a thunderstorm arose and obliged us to put ashore ; 
and there we remained for four hours sitting under a tree, 
while the rain poured in torrents. In the evening Nature 
tired of teasing us ; and the sun shone brightly out as we 
once more resumed our paddles. To make up for lost 
time, we travelled until about two o'clock next morning, 
when we put ashore to rest a little ; and, as the night was 
fine, we just threw our blankets over our shoulders and 
tumbled down on the first convenient spot we could find, 
without making a fire or taking any supper. We had not 
lain long, however, when I felt a curious chilly sensation 
all along mj side, which effectually awakened me ; and 
then I saw, or rather heard, that a perfect deluge of rain 
was descending upon our luckless heads, and that I had 
been reposing in the centre of a large puddle. This state 
of things was desperate ; and as the poor Indians seemed 
to be as thoroughly uncomfortable as they possibly could 
be, I proposed to start again, which we did, and before 
daylight were many a mile from our wretched encamp- 
ment. As the sun rose the weather cleared up, and soon 
after we came to the end of Knee Lake and commenced 
the ascent of Trout River. Here I made a sketch of the 



HUDSON'S BAY. 189 

Trout Falls while the men made a portage to avoid them. 
With a few Indians, encamped on this portage, we ex- 
changed a little pemmican for some excellent white-fish, a 
great treat to us after living so long on pemmican and tea. 
Our biscuit had run short a few days before, and the 
pound of butter which we brought from York Factory 
had melted into oil from the excessive heat and van- 
ished through the bottom of the canvas bag containing it. 
Trout Eiver, though short, has a pretty fair share of falls 
and rapids, which we continued ascending all day. The 
scenery was pleasing and romantic ; but there was noth- 
ing of grandeur in it, the country being low, flat, and ex- 
cepting on the banks of the river, uninteresting. In the 
afternoon we came to the end of this short river, and ar- 
rived at Oxford House. We landed in silence, and I 
walked slowly up the hill, but not a soul appeared. At 
last, as I neared the house, I caught a glimpse of a little 
boy's face at the window, who no sooner saw me than his 
eyes opened to their widest extent, while his mouth fol- 
lowed their example, and he disappeared with a pre- 
cipitancy that convinced me he was off to tell his mother 
the astounding news that somebody had arrived. The 
next moment I was shaking hands with my old friend 
Mrs. Gordon ^nd her two daughters, whom I found en- 
gaged in the interesting occupation of preparing tea. 
From them I learned that they were entirely alone, 
with only one man to take care of the post, Mr. Gordon, 
whom they expected back every day, having gone to 
Norway House. 

I spent a delightful evening with this kind and hospi- 
table family— talking of our mutual friends, and discuss- 
ing the affairs of the country, till a tall box in a corner 
of the room attracted my attention. This I discovered 



190 HUDSON'S BAY. 

to my delight was no less than a barrel organ, on which 
one of the young ladies at my request played a few 
tunes. Now, barrel organs, be it known, were things that 
I had detested from my infancy upwards ; but this dislike 
arose principally from my having been brought up in the 
dear town o' Auld Reekie, where barrel-organ music is, 
as it were, crammed down one's throat without permission 
being asked or received, and even, indeed, where it is de- 
cidedly objected to. Everybody said too, that barrel or- 
gans were a nuisance, and of course I believed them ; so 
that I left my home with a decided dislike to barrel organs 
in general. Four years' residence, however, in the bush 
had rendered me much less fastidious in music as well 
as in many other things ; and during the last two years 
spent at York Factory, not a solitary note of melody had 
soothed my longing ear, so that it was with a species of 
ra23ture that I now ground away at the handle of this or- 
gan, which happened to be a very good one, and played 
in perfect tune. " God save the Queen," " Rule Britan- 
nia," " Lord M'Donald's Reel," and the " Blue Bells of 
Scotland," were played over and over again ; and, old 
and threadbare though they be, to me they were re- 
plete with endearing asociations, and sounded like the 
well-known voices of long, long absent friends. I spent 
indeed a delightful evening, and its pleasures were the 
more enhanced from the circumstance of its being the 
first, after a banishment of two years, which I had spent 
in the society of the fair sex. 

Next morning was fine, though the wind blew pretty 
fresh, and we started before breakfast, having taken leave 
of the family the night before. This was the 1st of July. 
We had been eight days on the route, which is rather 
a long time for a canoe to take to reach Oxford House ; 



HUDSON'S BAY. l9l 

but as most of the portages were now over, we calcu- 
lated upon arriving at Norway House in two or three 
days. 

In the afternoon the w^ind blew again, and obliged us 
to encamp on a small island, where we remained all day. 
While there, a couple of Indians visited us, and gave us 
an immense trout in exchange for some pemmican. This 
trout I neglected to measure, but I am convinced it w^as 
more than three feet long and half a foot broad ; it was 
very good, and we made a capital dinner off it. During 
the day, as it was very warm, I had a delightful swim in 
the lake, on the lee of the island. 

The wind moderated a little in the evening, and we 
again embarked, making up for lost time by travelling 
till midnight, when we put ashore and went to sleep 
without making a fire or taking any supper. About four 
o'clock we started again, and in a couple of hours came 
to the end of Oxford Lake, after which w^e travelled 
through a number of small swamps or reedy lakes, and 
stagnant rivers, among which I got so bewildered that I 
gave up the attempt to chronicle their names as hopeless ; 
and indeed it was scarcely worth while, as they were so 
small and overgrown with bulrushes that they were no 
more worthy of a name in such a place as America than 
a duh would be in Scotland. The weather was delight- 
fully cool, and mosquitos not troublesome, so that we 
proceeded with pleasure and rapidity. 

While thus threading our way tlu'ough narrow chan- 
nels and passages, upon turning a point we met three light 
canoes just on the point of putting ashore for breakfast, 
so I told my Indians to run ashore near them. As we 
approached, I saw that there were five gentlemen assem- 
bled, with whom I was acquainted, so that I was rather 



192 HUDSON'S BAY. 

anxious to get ashore ; but, alas ! fortune had determined 
to play me a scurvy trick, for no sooner had my foot 
touched the slippery stone on which I intended to land, 
than down I came squash on my breast in a most humil- 
iating manner, while my legs kept playfully waving about 
in the cooling element. This unfortunate accident I saw 
occasioned a strange elongation in the lateral dimensions 
of the mouths of the party on shore, who stood in silence 
admiring the scene. I knew, however, that to appear 
annoyed would only make matters w^orse ; so, with a des- 
perate effort to appear at ease, I rose, and while shaking 
hands with them, expressed my belief that there was 
nothing so conducive to health as a cold bath in the morn- 
ing. After a laugh at my expense we sat down to break- 
fast. One of the gentlemen gave me a letter from the 
Governor, and I now learned, for the first time, that I was 
to take a passage in one of the light canoes for Montreal. 
Here, then, was a termination to my imaginary rambles 
on the Rocky Mountains, or on the undulating prairies of 
the Saskatchewan ; and instead of massacring buffalo and 
deer in the bush, I was in a short time to endeavor to 
render myself a respectable member of civihzed society. 
I was delighted with the idea of the change, however, and 
it was with a firmer step and lighter heart that I took my 
leave, and once more stepped into the canoe. 

After passing through a succession of swamps and nar- 
row channels, we arrived at Robinson's Portage, where 
we found voyageurs running about in all directions some 
with goods on their backs, and others returning light to 
the other end of the portage. We found that they be- 
longed to the Oxford House boats, which had just arrived 
at the other end of the portage, where they intended to 
encamp, as it was now late. Robinson's Portage is the 



HUDSON'S BAY. 193 

longest on the route, being nearly a mile in length ; and, 
as all the brigades going to York Factory must pass over 
it twice — in going and returning — the track is beaten into 
a good broad road, and pretty firm, although it is rather 
uneven, and during heavy rains somewhat muddy. Over 
this all the boats are dragged, and launched at the upper 
or lower end of the portage, as the brigades may happen 
to be ascending or descending the stream. Then all the 
cargoes are in like manner carried over. Packs of furs 
and bales of goods are generally from 80 to 100 lbs. 
weight each, and every man who does not wish to be 
considered a lazy fellow, or to be ridiculed by his com- 
panions, carries two of those pieces, as they are called, 
across all portages. The boats are capable of containing 
from seventy to ninety of these pieces, so that it will be 
easily conceived that a voyageur's life is anything but an 
easy one ; indeed, it is one of constant and harassing toil, 
even were the trouble of ascending rapid rivers, where 
he is often obhged to jump into the water at a moment's 
notice, to lighten the boat in shallows, left entirely out of 
the question. This portage is made to avoid what are 
called the White Falls — a succession of cataracts up 
which nothing but a fish could possibly ascend. After 
q^rrying over our canoe and luggage, we encamped at 
the upper end. The river we commenced ascending next 
morning was pretty broad, and after a short paddle in it 
we entered the Echimamis. This is a sluggish, serpen- 
tine stream, about five or six yards broad, though in some 
places so narrow that boats scrape the banks on either 
side. What little current there is, runs in a contrary 
direction to the rivers we had been ascending. Mosqui- 
tos again attacked us as we glided down its gloomy cur- 
rent, and nothing but swamps, filled with immense bul- 
ls 



194 HUDSON'S BAY. 

rushes, were visible around. Here, in days of yore, the 
beaver had a flourishing colony, and numbers of their 
dams and cuttings were yet visible ; but they have long 
since deserted this much-frequented waste, and one of 
their principal dams now serves to heighten the water, 
which is not deep, for the passage of brigades in dry 
seasons. At night, when we encamped on its low^ damp 
banks, we were attacked by myriads of mosquitos, so 
that we could only sleep by making several fires round 
us, the smoke from which partially protected us. About 
three o'clock in the morning, M^iich was very warm, we 
reembarked, and at noon arrived at the Sea Portage, 
(why so called I know not, as it is hundreds of miles in- 
land,) which is the last on the route. This portage is 
very short, and is made to surmount a pretty large water- 
fall. Almost immediately afterwards we entered Play- 
green Lake, and put ashore on a small island, to alter 
our attire before arriving at Norway House. 

Here, with the woods for our closet, and the clear lake 
for our basin as well as looking-glass, we proceeded to 
scrub our sunburnt faces, and in half an hour, having 
made ourselves as respectable as circumstances would 
permit, we paddled swiftly over the lake. It is pretty 
long, and it was not until evening that I caught the first 
glimpse of the bright spire of the Wesleyan Church at 
Rossville. 

We now approached the termination of our journey, for 
the time at least ; and it was with pleasing recollections 
that I recognized the well-known rocks where I had so 
often wandered three years before. When we came in 
sight of the fort, it was in a state of bustle and excite- 
ment as usual, and I could perceive from the vigorous 
shaking of hands going forward, from the number of 



HUDSON'S BAY. 195 

voyageiirs collected on the landing-place, and of boats 
assembled at the wharf, that there had just been an 
arrival. Our poor little canoe was not taken any notice 
of as it neared the wharf, until some of the people on 
shore observed that there was some one in the middle of 
it sitting in a very lazy, indolent position, which is quite 
uncommon among Indians. In another minute we gained 
the bank, and I grasped the hand of my kind friend and 
former chief, Mr. Kuss. 

We had now been travelling twelve days, and had 
passed over upwards of thirty portages during the 
voyage. 

We ought to have performed this voyage in a much 
shorter time, as canoes proceed faster than boats, which 
seldom take longer to complete this voyage than we did ; 
but this arose from our detention during high winds in 
several of the lakes. 



196 HUDSON'S BAY. 



CHAPTER X. 

VOYAGE TO CANADA BY THE GREAT LAKES OF THE INTERIOR. 

AT Norway House I remained for nearly a month 
with my old friend Mr. Russ, who in a former part 
of this veracious book is described as being a very ar- 
dent and scientific fisher, extremely partial to strong rods 
and lines, and entertaining a powerful antipathy to slen- 
der rods and flies ! 

Little change had taken place in the appearance of the 
fort. The clerks' house was still as full, and as noisy, as 
when Polly told frightful stories to the greenhorns on 
the point of setting out for the wild countries of Mac- 
kenzie's River and New Caledonia. The Indians of the 
village at Rossville plodded on in their usual peaceful 
way, under the guidance of their former pastor ; and the 
ladies of the establishment were as blooming as ever. 

One fine morning, just as Mr. Russ and I were saun- 
tering down to the river with our rods, a north canoe, 
full of men, swept round the point above the fort, and 
grounded near the wharf. Our rods were soon cast 
aside, and we were speedily congratulating Mr. and Mrs. 
Bain on their safe arrival. These were to be my com- 
panions on the impending voyage to Canada, and the 
canoe in which they had arrived was to be our convey- 
ance. 

Mr. Bain was a good-natured, light-hearted High- 
lander, and his lady a pretty lass of twenty-three. 



HUD SOX'S BAY. 197 

On the following morning all was ready; and soon 
after breakfast we were escorted down to the wharf by 
all the people in the fort, who crowded to the rocks to 
witness our departure. 

Our men, eight in number, stood leaning on their pad- 
dles near the wharf; and, truly, a fine athletic set of fel- 
lows they were. The beautifully shaped canoe floated 
lightly on the river, notwithstanding her heavy cargo, and 
the water rippled gently against her sides as it swept 
slowly past. This frail bark, on which our safety and 
progression depended, was made of birch bark sewed 
together, hned in the inside with thin laths of wood, and 
pitched on the seams with gum. It was about thirty-six 
feet long, and five broad in the middle, from whence it 
tapered either way to a sharp edge. It was calculated 
to carry from twenty to twenty-five cwt., with eight or 
nine men, besides three passengers, and provisions for 
nearly a month. And yet, so light was it, that two men 
could carry it a quarter of a mile without resting. Such 
was the machine in which, on the 20th August, 1845, we 
embarked ; and, after bidding our friends at Norway 
House adieu, departed for Canada, a distance of nearly 
two thousand three hundred miles through the uninhab- 
ited forests of America. 

Our first day was propitious, being warm and clear ; 
and we travelled a good distance ere the rapidly thicken- 
ing shades of evening obliged us to put ashore for the 
night. The place on which we encamped was a flat rock 
which lay close to the river's bank, and behind it the 
thick forest formed a screen from the north wind. It 
looked gloomy enough on landing ; but, ere long, a huge 
fire was kindled on the rock, our two snow-white tents 
pitched, and supper in course of preparation, so that 



198 HUDSON'S BAY. 

things soon began to wear a gayer aspect. Supper was 
spread in Mr. Bain's tent by one of the men, whom we 
appointed to the office of cook and waiter. And when 
we were seated on our blankets and cloaks upon the 
ground, and Mr. Bain had stared placidly at the fire for 
five minutes, and then at his wife (who presided at the 
hoard) for ten, we began to feel quite jolly, and gazed 
with infinite satisfaction at the men, who ate their supper 
out of the same kettle, in the warm light of the camp- 
fire. Our first bed was typical of the voyage, being 
hard and rough, but withal much more comfortable than 
many others we slept upon afterwards ; and we were all 
soon as sound asleep upon the rock in the forest, as if we 
had been in feather-beds at home. 

The beds on which a traveller in this country sleeps 
are various and strange. Sometimes he reposes on a pile 
of branches of the pine-tree ; sometimes on soft, downy 
moss ; occasionally on a pebbly beach or a flat rock ; and 
not unfrequently on rough gravel and sand. Of these 
the moss bed is the most agreeable, and the sandy one 
the worst. 

Early on the following morning, long before daylight, 
we were roused from our slumbers to reembark, and now 
our journey may be said to have commenced in earnest. 
Slowly and silently we stepped into the canoe, and sat 
down in our allotted places, while the men advanced in 
silence, and paddled up the quiet river in a very melan- 
choly sort of mood. The rising sun, however, dissipated 
these gloomy feelings, and after breakfast, which we took 
on a small island near the head of Jack River, we revived 
at once, and started with a cheering song, in which all 
joined. Soon after, we rounded a point of the river, and 
Lake Winnipeg, calm and clear as crystal, glittering in 



HUDSON'S BAY. 199 

the beams of the morning sun, lay stretched out before 
us to the distant and scarcely perceptible horizon. Every 
pleasure has its alloy, and the glorious calm, on which we 
felicitated ourselves not a little, was soon ruffled by a 
breeze, which speedily increased so much as to obhge us 
to encamp near Montreal Point, being too strong for us 
to venture across the traverse of five or six miles now 
before us. Here, then, we remained the rest of the day 
and night, rather disappointed that delay should have 
occurred so soon. 

Next day we left our encampment early, and travelled 
prosperously till about noon, when the wind again in- 
creased to such a degree that we were forced to put 
ashore on a point, where we remained for the next two 
days in grumbling inactivity. 

There is nothing more distressing and annoying than 
being windbound in these wild and uninhabited regions. 
One has no amusement except reading, or promenading 
about the shores of the lake. Now, although this may 
be very delightful to a person of a romantic disposition, 
it was anything but agreeable to us, as the season was 
pretty far advanced, and the voyage long ; besides, I had 
no gun, having parted with mine before leaving Norway 
House, and no books had been brought, as M^e did not 
calculate upon being windbound. I was particularly dis- 
appointed at not having brought my gun, for while we 
lay upon the rocks one fine day, gazing gloomily on the 
foaming lake a black bear was perceived walking slowly 
round the bottom of the bay formed by the point on 
which we were encamped. It was hopeless to attempt 
killing him, as Mr. Bruin was not fool enough to permit 
us to attack him with axes. After this, a regular course 
of high winds commenced, which retarded us very much, 



200 HUDSON'S BAY. 

and gave us much uneasiness as well as annoyance. A 
good idea of the harassing nature of our voyage across 
Lake Winnipeg may be obtained from the following page 
or two of my journal, as I wrote it on the spot : — 

Monday, 2bth August. — The wind having moderated 
this morning, we left the encampment at an early hour, 
and travelled uninterruptedly till nearly eight o'clock, 
when it began to blow so furiously that we were obliged 
to run ashore and encamp. All day the gale continued, 
but in the evening it moderated, and we were enabled to 
proceed a good way ere night closed in. 

Tuesday, 2Uh. — Rain fell in torrents during the night. 
The wind, too, was high, and we did not leave our en- 
campment till after breakfast. We made a good day's 
journey, however, travelling about forty miles, and at »-^ 
night pitched our tents on a point of rock, the only -^ 
camping-place, as our guide told us, within ten miles, j-- 
No dry ground was to be found in the vicinity, so we C 
were fiiin to sleep upon the flattest rock we could find, J^ 
with only one blanket under us. This bed, however, ^ 
was not so disagreeable as might be imagined, its princi- 
pal disadvantage being, that, should it happen to rain, 
the water, instead of sinking into the ground, forms a 
little pond below you, deep or shallow, according to the 
hoUowness or flatness of the rock on which you repose. 

Wednesday, 21th. — Set out early this morning, and 
travelled till noon, when the wind again drove us ashore, 
where we remained, in no very happy humor, all day. 
Mr. Bain and I played the flute for pastime. 

Thursday, 28th. — The persevering wind blew so hard, 
that we remained in the encampment all day. This was 
indeed a dismal day ; for independently of being delayed, 
which is bad enough, the rain fell so heavily that it be- 



HUDSON'S BAY. 201 

gan to penetrate through our tents, and, as if not content 
'with this, a gust of wind more violent than usual tore the 
fastenings of my tent out of the ground, and dashed it 
ov«r my head, leaving me exposed to the pitiless pelting 
of ihe storm. Mr. Bain's tent being in a more sheltered 
spot, fortunately escaped. 

Fnday^ '2^th. — The weather was much improved to- 
day, Ixit it still continued to blow sufficiently to prevent 
our stJirting. As the wind moderated, however, in the 
evening, the men carried the baggage down to the beach, 
to have 't in readiness for an early start on the morrow. 

Saturday. 30th. — In the morning we found that the 
wind had again risen, so as to prevent our leaving the 
encampment. This detention is really very tiresome. 
We have no amusement except reading a few uninterest- 
ing books, eating without appetite, and sleeping inordi- 
nately. Oh that I were possessed of the Arabian Nights' 
7?iat, which transported its owner whithersoever he listed I 
There is noth'ng for it, however, but patience ; and as- 
suredly I have a good example in poor Mrs. Bain, who, 
though little accustomed to such work, has not given ut- 
terance to a word of complaint since we left Norway 
House. It is nov^ four days since we pitched our tents 
on this vile point. How long we may still remain is yet 
to be seen. 

Thursday, September Ath. — The wind was still very 
strong this morning ; but so impatient had we become at 
our repeated detentions, that, with one accord, we con- 
sented to do or die I So, after launching and loading 
the canoe with great difficulty, owing to the immense 
waves that thundered against the shore, we all embarked 
and pushed off. After severe exertion, and much ship- 
ping of water we at length came to the mouth of the 



202 HUDSON'S BAY. 

Winnipeg River, up which we proceeded a short distance, 
and arrived at Fort Alexander. 

Thus had we taken fifteen days to coast along Leke 
Winnipeg, a journey that is usually performed in a third 
of that time. 

Fort Alexander belongs to the Lac la Pluie dis:rict ; 
but being a small post, neither famous for trade nor for 
appearance, I will not take the trouble of describing it. 
We only remained a couple of hours to take in provisions 
in the shape of a ham, a little pork, and some four, and 
then reembarking, commenced the ascent of TV'innipeg 
Biver. 

The travelling now before us was widely diferent from 
that of the last fifteen days. Our men coulc no longer 
rest upon their paddles when tired, as they used to do on 
the level waters of the lake. The river was a rapid one ; 
and towards evening we had an earnest i)f the rough 
work in store for us, by meeting in rapid succession with 
three waterfalls, to surmount which we were obliged to 
carry the canoe and cargo over the rocks, and launch 
them above the falls. While the men were engaged in 
this laborious duty, Mr. Bain and I ciscovered a great 
many plum-trees laden with excellent fruit, of which we 
ate as many as we conveniently cou!d, and then filling 
our caps and handkerchiefs, embarked with our prize. 
They were a great treat to us, after our long abstinence 
from everything but salt food, and I believe we demol- 
ished enough to have killed a whole parish school — 
boys, master, usher, and all ! But in voyages like these 
one may take great liberties with one's interior with per- 
fect impunity. 

About sunset we encamped in a picturesque spot, near 
the top of a huge waterfall, whose thundering roar, as it 



HUDSON'S BAY. 203 

mingled with the sighing of the night wind through the 
bashes and among the precipitous rocks around us, 
formed an appropriate and somewhat romantic hillaby. 

On the following morning we were aroused from our 
slumbers at daybreak ; and in ten minutes our tents were 
down and ourselves in the canoe, bounding merrily up 
the river, while the echoing woods and dells responded 
to the lively au* of " Rose Blanche," sung by the men as 
we swept round point after point and curve after curve 
of the noble river, which displayed to our admiring gaze 
every variety of wild and woodland scenery — now open- 
ing up a long vista of sloping groves of graceful trees, 
beautifully variegated with the tints of autumnal foliage, 
and sprinkled with a profusion of wild-flowers ; and 
anon surrounding us with immense cliffs and precipi- 
tous banks of the grandest and most majestic aspect, at 
the foot of which the black waters rushed impetuously 
past, and gurgling into white foam as they sped 
through a broken and more interrupted channel, finally 
sprang over a mist-shrouded cliff, and, after boiling madly 
onwards for a short space, resumed their silent, quiet 
course through peaceful scenery. As if to enhance the 
romantic wildness of the scene, upon rounding a point 
we came suddenly upon a large black bear, which was 
walking leisurely along the banks of the river. He 
gazed at us in surprise for a moment ; and then, as if 
it had suddenly occurred to him that guns might be in 
the canoe, away he went helter-skelter up the bank, tear- 
ing up the ground in his precipitate retreat, and vanished 
among the bushes. Fortunately for him there was not a 
gun in the canoe, else his chance of escape would have 
been very small indeed, as he was only fifty yards or so 
from us when we first discovered him. 



204 HUDSON'S BAY. 

^ye made ten portages of various lengths during the 
course of the day; none of them exceeded a quarter of a 
mile, while the most were merely a few yards. They 
were very harassing, however, being close to each other ; 
and often we loaded, unloaded, and carried the canoe 
and cargo overland several times in the distance of half 
a mile. 

On the 7tli we left the encampment at an early hour, 
and made one short portage a few minutes after starting. 
After breakfast, as we paddled quietly along, we descried 
three canoes coming towards ns, filled with Indians of the 
Seanteaux tribe. They gave us a few fresh ducks in ex- 
change for some pork and tobacco, with which they were 
much delighted. After a short conversation between them 
and one of our men, who understood the language, we 
parted and proceeded on our way. A little rain fell dur- 
ing the day, but in the afternoon the sun shone out and 
lighted up the scenery. The forests about this part of 
the river wore a much more cheerful aspect than those 
of the lower countries, being composed chietly of poplar, 
birch, oak, and willows, whose beautiful light green foliage 
had a very pleasing effect upon eyes, long accustomed to 
the dark pines along the shores of Hudson's Bay. 

In the afternoon we met another canoe, in which we 
saw a gentleman sitting. This strange sight set us all 
speculating as to who it could be ; for we knew that all 
the canoes accustomed annually to go through these wilds 
had long since passed. We were soon enlightened, how- 
ever, on the subject. Both canoes made towards a flat 
rock that oftered a convenient spot for landing on ; and 
the stranger introduced himself as Dr. Rae. He was 
on his way to York Factory for the purpose of fitting out 
at that post an expedition for the survey of the small part 



HUDSON'S BAY. 205 

of the North American coast left unexplored by Messrs. 
Dease and Simpson, which will then prove beyond a 
doubt whether or not there is a communication by water 
between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans round the north 
of America. Dr. Rae appeared to be just the man for 
such an expedition. He was very muscular and active, 
full of animal spirits, and had a fine intellectual counte- 
nance. He was considered, by those who knew him well, 
to be one of the best snow-shoe walkers in the service, 
was also an excellent rifle-shot, and could stand an im- 
mense amount of fatigue. Poor fellow ! greatly will he 
require to exert all his abilities and powers of endurance. 
He does not proceed as other expeditions have done — 
namely, with large supplies of provisions and men, but 
merely takes a very small supply of provisions and ten 
or twelve men. These, however, are all to be of his own 
choosing, and will doubtless be men of great experience 
in travelling among the wild regions of North America. 
The whole expedition is fitted out at the expense of the 
Hudson's Bay Company. The party are to depend al- 
most entirely on their guns for provisions ; and after pro- 
ceeding in two open boats round the northwestern shores 
of Hudson's Bay as far as they may find it expedient or 
practicable, are to land, place their boats in security for 
the winter, and then penetrate into these unexplored re- 
gions on foot. After having done as much as possible 
towards the forwarding of the object of his journey. Dr. 
Rae and his party are to spend the long dreary winter 
with the Esquimaux, and commence operations again 
early in the spring. He is of sucli a pushing, energetic 
character, however, that there is every probability he will 
endeavor to prosecute his discoveries during winter, if at 
all practicable. How long he will remain exploring 



206 HUDSON'S BAY. 

among these wild regions is uncertain, but he may be 
two, perhaps three years. There is every reason to be- 
lieve that this expedition will be successful, as it is fitted 
out by a company intimately acquainted with the difficul- 
ties and dangers of the country through which it will have 
to pass, and the best methods of overcoming and avoid- 
ing them. Besides, the Doctor himself is well accustomed 
to the life he will have to lead, and enters upon it not with 
the vague and uncertain notions of Back and Franklin, 
but with a pretty correct apprehension of the probable 
routine of procedure, and the experience of a great many 
years spent in the service of the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany.* After a few minutes' conversation we parted, and 
pursued our respective journeys. 

Towards sunset we encamped on the margin of a small 
lake, or expanse of the river ; and soon the silence of the 
forest was broken by the merry voices of our men, and by 
the crashing of the stately trees, as they fell under the 
axes of the iwyageurs. The sun's last rays streamed 
across the water in a broad, red glare, as if jealous of 
the huge' camp-fire, which now rose crackling among 
the trees, casting a ruddy glow upon our huts, and 
lighting up the swarthy faces of our men as they as- 
sembled round it to rest their Aveary limbs, and to watch 
the operations of the cook while he prepared their even- 
ing m^al. 

In less than an hour after we landed, the floor of our 
tent was covered with a smoking dish of fried pork, a 
huge ham, a monstrous teapot, and various massive slices 

* Since the above was written, several years have passed, and Dr. 
Rae's name has become famous, not only on account of successful dis- 
covery, but also in connection with the expeditions sent out in search 
of Sir John Franklin. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 207 

of bread, with butter to match. To partake of these deli- 
cacies, we seated oui-selves in Oriental fashion, and sip- 
ped our tea in contemplative silence, as we listened 
to the gentle murmur of a neighboring brook, and 
gazed through the opening of our tent at the voya- 
geurs, while they ate their supper round the fire, or 
reclining at length upon the grass, smoked their pipes 
in silence. 

Supper was soon over, and I went out to warm myself, 
preparatory to turning in for the night. The men had 
supped, and their huge forms were now stretched around 
the fire, enveloped in clouds of tobacco smoke, which 
curled in volumes from their unshaven lips. They were 
chatting and laughing over tales of bygone days ; and 
just as I came up, they were begging Pierre the guide to 
relate a tale of some sort or other. " Come, Pierre," said 
a tall, dark-looking fellow, whose pipe, eyes, and hair 
were of the same jetty hue, " tell us how that Ingin was 
killed on the Labrador coast by a black bear. Baptiste, 
here, never heard how it happened, and you know he's 
fond of wild stories." 

" Well," returned the guide, " since you must have it, 
I'll do what I can ; but don't be disappointed if it isn't so 
interesting as you would wish. It's a simple tale, and 
not over long." So saying, the guide disposed himself 
in a more comfortable attitude, refilled his pipe, and after 
blowing two or three thick clouds to make sure of its 
keeping alight, gave, in nearly the following words, an 
account of 

THE DEATH OF WAPWIAN. 

" It is now twenty years since I saw Wapwian, and 
during that time I have travelled far and wide in the 



208 HUDSON'S BAY. 

plains and forests of America. I have hunted the buffalo 
with the Seauteaux, in the prairies of the Saskatchewan — 
I have crossed the Rocky Mountains with the Blackfeet — 
and killed the black bear with the Abinikies, on the 
coasts of Labrador — but never, among all the tribes that 
I have visited, have I met an Indian like Wapwian. 
It was not his form or his strength that I admired — 
though the first was graceful, and the latter immense ; 
but his disposition was so kind, and affectionate, and 
noble, that all who came in contact with him loved and 
respected him ; yet, strange to say, he was never con- 
verted by the Roman Catholic missionaries who from 
time to time visited his village. He listened to them 
with respectful attention, but always answered that he 
could worship the Great Manitou better as a hunter in 
the forest than as a farmer in the settlements of the white 
men. 

" Well do I remember the first time I stumbled upon 
the Indian village in which he lived. I had set out from 
Montreal with two trappers to pay a visit to the Labra- 
dor coast ; we had travelled most of the way in a small 
Indian canoe, coasting along the northern shore of the 
Gulf of St. Lawrence, and reconnoitring in the woods for 
portages to avoid rounding long capes and points of land, 
and sometimes in search of game — for we depended 
almost entirely upon our guns for food. 

" It was upon one of the latter occasions that I went 
off, accompanied by one of the trappers, while the, other 
]remained to watch the canoe and prepare our encampment 
for the night. We were unsuccessful, and, after a long 
walk, thought of returning to our camp empty-handed, 
when a loud whirring sound in the bushes attracted our 
attention, and two partridges perched upon a tree quite 



HUDSON'S BAY. 209 

near us. We shot them, and fixing them m our belts, 
retraced our way towards the coast with lighter hearts. 
Just as we emerged from the dense forest, however, on 
one side of an open space, a tall, muscular Indian strode 
from among the bushes and stood before us. He was 
dressed in the blanket capote, cloth leggins, and scarlet 
cap usually worn by the Abinikies, and other tribes of 
the Labrador coast. A red deer-skin shot-pouch, and a 
powder-horn, hung round his neck, and at his side were a 
beautifully ornamented fire-bag and scalping-knife. A 
common gun lay in the hollow of his left arm, and a pair of 
ornamented moccasins covered his feet. He was, indeed, 
a handsome-looking fellow, as he stood scanning us rap- 
idly with his jet-black eyes while we approached him. 
We accosted him, and informed him (for he understood a 
little French) whence we came, and our object in visit- 
ing his part of the country. He received our advances 
kindly, accepted a piece of tobacco that we offered him, 
and told us that his name was Wapwian, and that we 
were welcome to remain at his village — to which he 
offered to conduct us— as long as we pleased. After a 
little hesitation we accepted his invitation to remain a 
few days ; the more so, as by so doing we would have 
an opportunity of getting some provisions to enable us to 
continue our journey. In half an hour we reached the 
brow of a small eminence, whence the curling smoke of 
the wigwams was visible. The tents were pitched on the 
shores of a small bay or inlet, guarded from the east wind 
by a high precipice of rugged rocks, around which hun- 
dreds of sea-fowl sailed in graceful flights. Beyond this 
headland stretched the majestic Gulf of St. Lawrence ; 
while to the left, the village was shaded by the spruce- 
fir, of which most of this part, of the forest is composed. 

14 



210 HUDSON'S BAY. 

There were, in all, about a dozen tents, made of dressed 
deer-skin, at the openings of which might be seen groups 
of little children playing about on the grass, or running 
after their mothers as they went to the neighboring rivu- 
let for water, or launched their canoes to examine the 
nets in the bay. 

' " Wapwian paused to gaze an instant on the scene, 
and then, descending the hill with rapid strides, entered 
the village, and despatched a little boy for our compan- 
ion in the encampment. 

" We were ushered into a tent somewhat elevated 
above the others, and soon were rechning on a soft pile 
of pine branches, smoking in company with our friend 
"Wapwian, while his pretty little squaw prepared a kettle 
of fish for supper. 

" We spent two happy days in the village — hunting 
deer with our Indian friend, and assisting the squaws in 
their fishing operations. On the third morning we re- 
mained in the camp to dry the venison, and prepare for 
our departure ; while Wapwian shouldered his gun, and 
calling to his nephew, a slim, active youth of eighteen,' 
bade him follow with his gun, as he intended to bring 
back a few ducks for his white brothers. 

" The two Indians proceeded for a time along the 
shore, and then striking off into the forest, threaded their 
way among the thick bushes in the direction of a chain 
of small lakes where wild-fowl were numerous. 

" For some time they moved rapidly along under the 
sombre shade of the trees, casting from time to time sharp 
glances into the surrounding underwood. Suddenly the 
elder Indian paused and threw forward his gun, as a 
slight rustling in the bushes struck his ear. The boughs 
bent and crackled a few yards in advance, and a large 



HUDSON'S BAY. 211 

black bear crossed the path and entered the underwood 
on the other side. Wapwian fired at him instantly, and a 
savage growl told that the shot had taken effect. The 
gun, however, had been loaded with small shot ; and 
although when he fired the bear was only a few yards off, 
yet the improbability of its having wounded him badly, 
and the distance they had to go ere they reached the 
lakes, incHned him to give up the chase. While Wap- 
wian was loading his gun, Miniquan (his nephew) had 
been examining the bear's track, and returned, saying 
that he w^as sure the animal must be badly wounded, for 
there was much blood on the track. At first the elder 
Indian refused to follow it ; but seeing that his nephew 
•wished very much to kill the brute, he at last consented. 
As the trail of the bear was much covered with blood, 
they found no difficulty in tracking it ;, and after a short 
walk they found him extended on his side at the foot of 
a large tree, apparently lifeless. Wapwian, however, was 
too experienced a hunter to trust himself incautiously 
within its reach ; so he examined the priming of his gun, 
and then, advancing slowly to the animal, pushed it with 
the muzzle. In an instant the bear sprang upon him, 
regardless of the shot lodged in its breast, and in another 
moment Wapwian lay stunned and bleeding at the mon- 
ster's feet. Miniquan was at first so thunderstruck, as he 
gazed in horror at the savage animal tearing with bloody 
jaws the senseless form of his uncle, that he stood rooted 
to the ground. It was only for a moment — the next, his 
gun was at his shoulder, and after firing at, but unfortu- 
nately, in the excitement of the moment, missing the bear, 
he attacked it with the butt of his gun, which he soon 
shivered to pieces on its skull. This drew the animal for 
a few moments from Wapwian ; and Miniquan, in hopes 



212 HUDSON'S BAY, 

of leading it from the place, ran off in the direction of the 
village. The bear, however, soon gave up the chase, and 
returned again to its victim. Miniquan now saw that the 
only chance of saving his relative was to alarm the vil- 
lage ; so, tightening his belt, he set off with the speed of 
the hunted deer in the direction of the camp. In an in- 
credibly short time he arrived, and soon returned with the 
trappei's and myself. Alas ! alas ! " said the guide with a 
deep sigh, " it was too late. Upon arriving at the spot, 
we found the bear quite dead, and the noble, generous 
Wapwian extended by its side, torn and lacerated in such 
a manner that we could scarcely recognize him. He still 
breathed a little, however, and appeared to know me, as I 
bent over him and tried to close his gaping wounds. "We 
constructed a rude couch of branches, and conveyed him 
slowly to the village. No word of complaint or cry of 
sorrow escaped from his wife as we laid his bleeding 
form in her tent. She seemed to have lost the power of 
speech, as she sat, hour after hour, gazing in unutterable 
despair on the mangled form of her husband. Poor 
Wapwian lingered for a week in a state of unconcious- 
ness. His skull had been fractured, and he lay almost in 
a state of insensibility, and never spoke, save when in a 
fit of delirium, his fancy wandered back to bygone days, 
when he ranged the forest with a tiny bow in chase of 
little birds and squirrels, strode in the vigor of early man- 
hood over frozen plains of snow, or dashed down foaming 
currents and mighty rivers in his light canoe. Then a 
shade would cross his brow as he thought, perhaps, of his 
recent struggle with the bear, and he would again relapse 
into silence. 

" He recovered sKghtly before his death ; and once he 
smiled, as if he recognized his wife, but he never spoke 



HUDSON'S BAY. 213 

to any one. We scarcely knew when his spirit fled, so 
calm and peaceful was his end. 

" His body now reposes beneath the spreading branches 
of a lordly pine, near the scenes of his childhood ; where 
he had spent his youth, and where he met his untimely 
end." 

The guide paused, and looked round upon his auditors. 
Alas ! for the sympathy of man — the half of them had 
gone to sleep ; and Baptiste, for whose benefit the story 
had been related, lay or rather sprawled upon the turf 
behind the fire, his shaggy head resting on the decayed 
stump of an old tree, and his empty pipe hanging grace- 
fully from his half-open mouth. A slight " humph " 
escaped the worthy guide as he shook the ashes from 
his pipe, and rolling his blanket round him, laid his head 
upon the ground. 

Early the following morning we raised the camp and 
continued our journey. The scenery had now become 
more wild and picturesque. Large pines became nu- 
merous ; and th^ rocky fissures, through which the river 
rushed in a black unbroken mass, cast a gloomy shadow 
upon us as we struggled to ascend. Sometimes we man- 
aged to get up these rapids with the paddles, and when 
the current was too powerful, with long poles, which the 
men fixed in the ground, and thus pushed slowly up ; 
but when both of these failed, we resorted to the track- 
ing line, upon which occasions four of the men went on 
shore and dragged us up, leaving four in the canoe to 
paddle and steer it. When the current was too strong 
for this, they used to carry parts of the cargo to the 
smooth water further up, and drag the canoe up light, 
or, taking it on their shoulders, carry it overland. We 



214 HUDSON'S BAY. 

made nine or ten of these portages in two days. In 
the afternoon we came in view of a Roman Catholic mis- 
sion station, snugly situated at the bottom of a small bay 
or creek ; but as it was a little out of our way, and from 
its quiet appearance seemed deserted, we did not stop. 

In the afternoon of the following day, the 9th of Sep- 
tember, we arrived at the Company's post, called Eat 
Portage House, where we were hospitably entertained 
for a few hours by Mr. M'Kenzie, the gentleman in 
charge. On the portage, over which we had to carry 
our canoe and baggage, a large party of Indians of both 
sexes and all ages were collected to witness our depar- 
ture ; and Mr. M'Kenzie advised us to keep a sharp 
look-out, as they were much addicted to appropriating 
the property of others to their own private use, provided 
they could find an opportunity of doing so unobserved ; 
so, while our men were running backwards and forwards, 
carrying the things over the rocks, Mr. Bain and his 
lady remained at one end to guard them and I at the 
other. Everything, however, was got safely across ; 
the Indians merely stood looking on, apparently much 
amused with our proceedings, and nothing seemed further 
from their thoughts than stealing. Just as we paddled 
from the bank, one of our men threw them a handful of 
tobacco, for which there was a great scramble, and their 
noisy voices died away in the distance as we rounded an 
abrupt point of rocks, and floated out upon the glorious 
expanse of Lac du Bois, or, as it is more frequently 
called, the Lake of the "Woods. 

There is nothing, I think, better calculated to awaken 
the more solemn feelings of our nature (unless, indeed, 
it be the thrilling tones of sacred music) than these 
noble lakes, studded with innumerable islets, suddenly 



HUDSON'S BAY. 215 

bursting on the traveller's view as he emerges from the 
sombre forest rivers of the American wilderness. The 
clear unruffled water, stretching out to the horizon — here 
embracing the heavy and luxuriant foliage of a hundred 
wooded isles, or reflecting the wood-clad mountains on 
its margin, clothed in all the variegated hues of autumn ; 
and there, glittering with dazzling brilliancy in the bright 
rays of the evening sun, or rippling among the reeds 
and rushes of some shallow bay, where hundreds of wild- 
fowl chatter, as they feed, with varied cry, rendering 
more apparent, rather than disturbing, the solemn still- 
ness of the scene; all tends to "raise the soul from 
nature up to nature's God," and reminds one of the 
beautiful passage of Scripture, " Lord, how manifold 
are thy works ! in wisdom hast thou made them all : 
the earth is full of thy riches." At the same time, when 
one considers how very few of the human race cast even 
a passing glance on the beauties of nature around, one 
cannot but be impressed with the truth of the lines, 

" Full many a flower is boru to blush unseen, 
And waste its sweetness on the desert air." 

At night we encamped at the furthest extremity of the 
lake, on a very exposed spot, whence we looked out upon 
the starlit scene, while our supper was spread before us 
in the warm hght of the fire, which blazed and crackled 
as the men heaped log after log upon it, sending up 
clouds of bright sparks into the sky. 

Next morning w^e commenced the ascent of Lac la 
Pluie River. This is decidedly the most beautiful river 
we had yet traversed, not only on accouftit of the luxu- 
riant foliage, of every hue, with which its noble banks 
are covered, but chiefly from the resemblance it bears in 



216 HUDSON'S BAY. 

many places to the scenery of England, recalling to mind 
the grassy lawns and verdant banks of Britain's streams, 
and transporting the beholder from the wild scenes of the 
western world to his native home. The trees along its 
banks were larger and more varied than any we had 
hitherto seen, — ash, poplar, cedar, red and white pines, 
oak, and birch, being abundant, whilst flowers of gaudy 
hues enhanced the beauty of the scene. Towards noon 
our guide kept a sharp look-out for a convenient spot 
whereon to dine ; and ere long a flat shelving rock, 
partly shaded by trees and partly exposed to the blaze of 
the sun, presented itself to view. The canoe was soon 
along-side of it, and kept floating about half a foot from 
the edge by means of two branches, the two ends of 
which were fastened to the bow and stern of the canoe, 
and the other two held to the ground by means of huge 
stones. It is necessary to be thus careful with canoes, 
as the gum or pitch with which the seams are plastered 
breaks off in lumps, particularly in cold weather, and 
makes the craft leaky. A snow-white napkin was spread 
on the flattest part of the rock, and so arranged that, as 
we reclined around it, on cloaks and blankets, our bodies 
down to the knees were shaded by the luxuriant foliage 
behind us, while our feet were basking in the solar rays ! 
Upon the napkin were presently placed, by our active 
waiter Gibault, three pewter plates, a decanter of port 
wine, and a large ham, together with a turret of salt 
butter, and a loaf of bread, to the demolition of which 
viands we devoted ourselves with great earnestness. At 
a short distance, the men circled round a huge lump of 
boiled pork, each with a large slice of bread in one hand 
and a knife in the other, with which he porhed his bread 
in the same way that civilized people butter theirs ! Half 



HUDSON'S BAY. 217 

an hour concluded our mid-day meal ; and then, casting 
off the branches from the canoe, we were out of sight 
of our temporary dining-room in five minutes. 

On the evening of the following day we arrived at the 
Company's post, Fort Frances. The fort is rather an 
old building, situated at the bottom of a small bay or 
curve in the river, near the foot of a waterfall, whose 
thundering roar forms a ceaseless music to the inhabi- 
tants. We found the post in charge of a chief trader, 
who had no other society than that of three or four 
laboring-men ; so, as may be supposed, he was delighted 
to see us. Our men carried the canoe, &c., over the 
portage to avoid the waterfall, and, as it was then too late 
to proceed further that night, we accepted his pressing 
invitation to pass the night at the fort. There was only 
one spare bed in the house, but this was a matter of little 
moment to us after the variety of beds we had had since 
starting ; so, spreading a buffalo robe on the floor for a 
mattress, I rolled myself in my blanket and tried to 
sleep. At first I could not manage it, owing to the 
unearthly stillness of a room, after being so long accus- 
tomed to the open air and the noise of rivers and cata- 
racts, but at last succeeded, and slept soundly till morning. 

Dame Fortune does not always persecute her friends ; 
and although she had retarded us hitherto a good deal 
with contrary winds and rain, she kindly assisted us 
when we commenced crossing Lac la Pluie next morn- 
ing, by raising a stiff, fair breeze. Now, be it known 
that a canoe, from having no keel, and a round bottom, 
cannot venture to hoist a sail unless the wind is directly 
astern — the least bit to one side would be sure to capsize 
it ; so that our getting the wind precisely in the proper 
direction at the commencement was a great piece of good 



218 HUDSON'S BAY. 

fortune, inasmucli as it enabled us to cross the lake in 
six hours, instead of (as is generally the case) taking 
one, two, or three days. 

In the evening we arrived, in high spirits, at a portage, 
on which we encamped. 

Our progress now became a little more interrupted 
by portages and small lakes, or rather ponds, through^ 
which we sometimes passed with difficulty, owing to the 
shallowness of the water in many places. Soon after 
this w^e came to the Mecan River, which we prepared to 
ascend. In making a portage, we suddenly discovered 
a little Indian boy, dressed in the extreme of the Indian 
summer fashion — in other words, he was in a state of 
perfect nakedness, with the exception of a breech-cloth ; 
and upon casting our eyes across the river we beheld 
his worthy father, in a similar costume, busily employed 
in catching fish with a hand-net. He was really a wild, 
picturesque-looking fellow, notwithstanding the scanti- 
ness of his dress, and I was much interested in his pro- 
ceedings. When I first saw him, he was standing upon 
a rock close to the edge of a foaming rapid, into the 
eddies of which he gazed intently, with the net raised in 
the air, and his muscular frame motionless, as if petrified 
while in the act of striking. Suddenly the net swung 
through the air, and his body quivered as he strained 
every sinew to force it quickly through the water ; in a 
moment it came out with a beautiful white-fish, upwards 
of a foot long, glittering like silver as it struggled in the 
meshes. In the space of half an hour he had caught 
half a dozen in this manner, and we bought three or four 
of the finest for a few plugs of tobacco. His wigwam 
and family were close at hand ; so, while our men crossed 
the portage, I ran up to see them. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 219 

The tent, which was made of sheets of birch bark 
sewed together, was pitched beneath the branches of a 
gigantic pine, upon the lower limbs of which hung a pair 
of wornout snow-shoes, a very dirty blanket, and a short 
bow, with a quiver of arrows near it. At the foot of it, 
upon the ground, were scattered a few tin pots, several 
pairs of old moccasins, and a gun ; while against it leaned 
an Indian cradle, in which a small very brown baby, 
with jet-black eyes and hair, stood bolt upright, bask- 
ing in the sun's rays, and bearing a comical resemblance 
to aa Egyptian mummy. At the door of the tent a 
child of riper years amused itself by rolling about among 
the chips of wood, useless bits of deer-skin, and filth, 
always strewn around a wigwam. On the right hand 
lay a pile of firewood, with an axe beside it, near which 
crouched a half-starved, wretched-looking nondescript 
dog, who commenced barking vociferously the moment 
he cast eyes upon me. Such was the outside. The 
interior, filled with smoke from the fire and Indians' 
pipes, was, if possible, even dirtier. Amid a large pile 
of rabbit-skins reclined an old woman, busily plucking 
the feathers from a fine duck, which she carefully pre- 
served (the feathers, not the duck) in a bag, for the 
purpose of trading them with the Company at a future 
period. Her dress was a coat of rabbit-skins, so strangely 
shaped that no one could possibly tell how she ever 
got it ofi" or on. This, however, was doubtless a mat- 
ter of little consequence to her, as Indians seldom take 
the trouble of changing their clothes, or even of undress- 
ing at all. The coat was fearfully dirty, and hung upon 
her in a way that led me to suppose she had worn it 
for six months, and that it would fall off" her in a few 
days. A pair of faded blue cloth leggins completed her 



220 HUDSON'S BAY. 

costume — her dirty shoulders, arms, and feet being quite 
destitute of covering ; while her long black hair fell in 
tangled masses upon her neck, and it was evidently a 
long time since a comb had passed through it. On the 
other side sat a younger woman similarly attired, em- 
ployed in mending a hand-net; and on a very much 
worn buffalo robe sat a young man, (probably the brother 
of the one we had seen fishing,) wrapped in a blanket, 
smoking his pipe in silence. A few dirty little half- 
naked boys lay sprawling among several packages of furs 
tied up in birch bark, and disputed with two or three ill- 
looking dogs the most commodious place whereon to lie. 
The fire in the middle of the tent sent up a cloud of 
smoke, which escaped through an aperture at the top, 
and from a cross-bar depended a few slices of deer-meat, 
undergoing the process of smoking. 

I had merely time to note all this, and say, " What 
cheer," to the Indians, who returned the compliment 
with a grunt, when the loud voice of our guide ringing 
through the glades of the forest informed me that the 
canoe was ready to proceed. 

The country through which we now passed was very 
interesting, on account of the variety of the scenes and 
places through which we wound our way. At times we 
were paddling with difficulty against the strong current 
of a narrow river, which, on our turning a point of land, 
suddenly became a large lake ; and then after crossing 
this, we arrived at a portage ; after passing over it, there 
came a series of small ponds and little creeks, through 
which we pushed our way with difficulty ; and then ar- 
rived at another lake, and more little rivers, with numer- 
ous portages. Sometimes ludicrous accidents happened 
to us, bad enough at the time, but subjects of mirth after- 
wards. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 221 

One cold frosty morning, (for the weather had now 
become cold, from the elevation of the country through 
which we were passing,) while the canoe was going 
quietly over a small reedy lake or ford, I was awakened 
out of a nap, and told that the canoe was aground, and I 
must get out and walk a little way to lighten her. Has- 
tily pulling up my trousers, (for I always travelled bare- 
foot,) I sprang over the side into the water, and the canoe 
left me. Now all this happened so quickly that I was 
scarcely awake ; but the bitterly cold water, which nearly 
reached my knees, cleared up my faculties most effect- 
ually, and I then found that I was fifty yards from the 
shore, with an unknown depth of water around me, the 
canoe out of sight ahead of me, and Mr. Bain (who had 
been turned out while half asleep also) standing with a 
rueful expression of countenance beside me. After feel- 
ing our way cautiously — for the bottom was soft and 
muddy — we reached the shore ; and then, thinking that 
all was right, proceeded to walk round to join the canoe. 
Alas ! we found the bushes so thick, that they were very 
nearly impenetrable ; and, worse than all, that they, as 
well as the ground, were covered with thorns, which 
scratched and lacerated our feet most fearfully at every 
step. There was nothing for it, however, but to per- 
severe ; and after a painful walk of a quarter of a mile, 
we overtook the canoe, vowing never to leap before we 
looked upon any other occasion whatsoever. 

In this way we proceeded, literally over hill and dale, 
in our canoe, and in the course of a few days ascended 
Mecan River, and traversed Cross Lake, Malign Hiver, 
Sturgeon Lake, Lac du Mort, Mille Lac, besides a great 
number of smaller sheets of water without names, and 
many portages of various lengths and descriptions, till 



222 HUDSON'S BAY. 

the evening of the 19th, when we ascended the beautiful 
little river called the Savan, and arrived at the Savan 
Portage. 

Thirty years ago, in the time of the Northwest Com- 
pany, the echoes among these wild solitudes were far 
oftener and more loudly awakened than they are now. 
The reason of it was this. The Northwest Company, 
having their head-quarters at Montreal, and being com- 
posed chiefly of Canadian adventurers, imported their 
whole supplies into the country, and exported all their 
furs out of it, in north canoes, by the same route over 
which we now travelled. As they carried on business on 
a large scale, it may be supposed that the traffic was 
correspondingly great. No less than ten brigades (each 
numbering twenty canoes) used to pass through these 
scenes during the summer months. No one who has not 
experienced it, can form an adequate idea of the thrilling 
effect the passing of these brigades must have had upon 
a stranger. I have seen four canoes sweep round a 
promontory suddenly, and burst upon my view ; while at 
the same moment the wild, romantic song of the voya- 
geurs, as they plied their brisk paddles, struck upon my 
ear, and I have felt thrilling enthusiasm on witnessing 
such a scene. What, then, must have been the feelings 
of those who had spent a long, dreary winter in the wild 
Northwest, far removed from the bustle and excitement 
of the civilized world, when thirty or forty of these pic- 
turesque canoes burst unexpectedly upon them, half 
shrouded in the spray that flew from the bright vermilion 
paddles, while the men who had overcome difficulties and 
dangers innumerable during a long voyage through the 
wilderness, urged their light craft over the troubled water 
with the speed of the reindeer, and with hearts joyful at 



HUDSON'S BAY. 223 

the happy termination of their trials and privations, sang, 
with all the force of three hundred manly voices, one of 
their lively airs, which, rising and falling faintly in the 
distance as it was borne, first lightly on the breeze, and 
then more steadily as they approached, swelled out in the 
rich tones of many a mellow voice, and burst at last into 
a long enthusiastic shout of joy ! 

Alas ! the forests no longer echo to such sounds. The 
passage of three or four canoes, once or twice a year, is 
all that breaks the stillness of the scene; and nought, 
save narrow pathways over the portages, and rough 
wooden crosses over the graves of the travellers who 
perished by the way, remains to mark that such things 
were. 

Of these marks, the Savan Portage, at which we had 
arrived, was one of the most striking. A long succession 
of boiling rapids and waterfalls having in days of yore 
obstructed the passage of the fur traders, they had landed 
at the top of them, and cut a pathway through the woods, 
which happened at this place to be exceedingly swampy 
— hence the name Savan, or swampy, Portage. To ren- 
der the road more passable, they had cut down trees, 
which they placed side by side along its whole extent, 
which was about three miles, and over this wooden plat- 
form carried their canoes and cargoes with perfect ease. 
After the coalition of the two companies, and the conse- 
quent carriage of the furs to England by Hudson's Bay, 
instead of to Canada by the lakes and rivers of the inte- 
rior, these roads were neglected and got out of repair ; 
and, consequently, we found the logs over the portage 
decayed, and trees fallen across them, so that our men, in- 
stead of running quickly over them, were constantly break- 
ing through the rotten wood, sinking up to the knees in 



224 HUDSON'S BAY. 

mud, and scrambling over trees and branches. We got 
over at last, however, in about two hours ; and after pro- 
ceeding a little further, arrived at and encamped upon the 
Prairie Portage, by the side of a vogageur's grave, which 
was marked as usual with a wooden cross, on which some 
friendly hand had cut a rude inscription. Time had now 
rendered it quite illegible. This is the height of land, 
dividing the w^aters which flow northward into Hudson's 
Bay from those which flow in a southerly direction through 
the great lakes into the Atlantic Ocean. 

A few pages from my journal here may serve to give 
a better idea of the characteristics of our voyage than 
could be conveyed in narrative : — 

Saturday, 20th September. — We crossed the Prairie 
Portage this morning, a distance of between three and 
four miles, and breakfasted at the upper end of it. 
Amused myself by sketching the view from a neighbor- 
ing hill. After crossing two more portages, and a variety 
of small lakes, we launched our canoe on the bosom of the 
river Du Chien, and began for the first time since the 
commencement of our journey to descend, having passed 
over the height of land. We saw several gray grouse 
here, and in the evening one of our men caught one in a 
curious manner. They were extremely tame, and allowed 
us to approach them very closely, so Baptiste determined 
to catch one for supper. Cutting a long branch from a 
neighboring tree, he tied a running noose on one end of 
it, and going quietly up to the bird, put the noose gently 
over its head, and pulled it off the tree ! This is a com- 
mon practice among the Indians, particularly when they 
have run short of gunpowder. 

Sunday, ^Ist. — Crossed Lac du Chien, and made the 
portage of the same name, from the top of which we had 



HUDSON'S BAY. 225 

a most beautiful view of the whole country for miles 
round. Having crossed this portage, we proceeded down 
the Kamenistaquoia River, on the banks of which, after 
making another portage, we pitched our tents. 

Monday, 22d. — Rain obliged us to put ashore this 
morning. Nothing can be more wretched than traveUing 
in rainy weather. The men, poor fellows, do not make 
the least attempt to keep themselves dry ; but the pas- 
sengers endeavor, by means of oiled cloths, to keep out 
the wet — and under this they broil and suffocate, till at 
last they are obliged to throw off the covering. Even 
were this not the case, we should still be wretched, as the 
rain always finds its way in somewhere or other ; and I 
have been often awakened from a nap by the cold trick- 
ling of moisture down my back, and have discovered, 
upon moving, that I was lying in a pool of water. Ashore, 
we are generally a little more comfortable, but not much. 
After dinner we again started, and advanced on our jour- 
ney till sunset. 

Tuesday, 2Sd. — To-day we advanced very slowly, 
owing to the shallowness of the water, and crossed a 
number of portages. During the day we ran several 
rapids. This is very exciting work. Upon nearing the 
head of a large rapid, the men strain every muscle to 
urge the canoe forward more quickly than the water, so 
that U may steer better. The bowsman and steersman 
stand erect, guiding the frail bark through the more un- 
broken places in the fierce current, which hisses and 
foams around, as if eager to swallow us up. Now we 
rush, with hghtning force, towards a rock, against which 
the water dashes in fury, and, to an uninitiated traveller, 
we appear to be on the point of destruction ; — but one 
vigorous stroke from the bowsman and steersman (for 
15 



226 HUDSON'S BAY. 

they always act in concert) sends the light craft at a sharp 
angle from the impending danger, and away we plunge 
again over the surging waters — sometimes floating for 
an instant in a small eddy, and hovering, as it were, 
to choose our path, and then plunging swiftly forward 
again through the windings of the stream, till, having 
passed the whole in safety, we float in the smooth water 
below. 

Accidents, as may be supposed, often happen ; and to- 
day we found that there is danger as well as pleasure in 
running the rapids. We had got over a great part of the 
day in safety, and were in the act of running the first 
part of the Rose Rapid, when our canoe struck upon a 
rock, and, wheeling round with its broadside to the stream, 
began to fill quickly. I could hear the timbers cracking 
beneath me under the immense pressure — another minute, 
and we should have been gone ; but our men, who were 
active fellows, and well accustomed to such dangers, 
sprang simultaneously over the side of the canoe, which, 
being thus lightened, passed over the rock, and rushed 
down the remainder of the rapid stern foremost, ere the 
men could scramble in and resume their paddles. When 
rapids were very dangerous, most of the cargo was gener- 
ally disembarked, and while one half of the crew carried 
it round to the still water below, the other half ran down 
light. • 

Crossed two small portages and the Mountain Portage 
in the afternoon, on the latter of which I went to see a 
waterfall which I was told was in its vicinity. I had 
great difficulty in finding it at first, but its thundering 
roar soon guided me to a spot from which it was visible. 
Truly, a grander waterfall I never saw ! The whole 
river, which was pretty broad, plunged in one broad 




VIEW FROM THE DOG PORTAGE. Page 226. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 229 

white sheet over a precipice, higher by a few feet, than 
the famous Falls of Niagara ; and the spray from the foot 
sprang high into the air, bedewing the wild, precipitous 
crags with which the fall is encompassed, and the gloomy 
pines that hang about the clefts and fissures of the rocks. 
Fur traders have given it the name of the Mountain Fall, 
from a peculiar mountain in its vicinity ; but the natives 
call it the Kackahecha Falls. After making a sketch of 
it, and getting myself thoroughly wet in so doing, I re- 
turned to the canoe. 

In the evening we encamped within nine miles of Fort 
William, having lost one of our men, who went ashore to 
lighten the canoe while we ran a rapid. After a good 
deal of trouble we found him again, but too late to admit 
of our proceeding to the fort that night. 

Wednesday, 24:th. — Early this morning we left the 
encampment, and after two hours' paddling Fort William 
burst upon our gaze, mirrored in the limpid waters of 
Lake Superior, that immense freshwater sea, whose rocky 
shores and rolling billows vie with the ocean itself in 
grandeur and magnificence. 

Fort William was once one of the chief posts in the 
Indian country, and, when it belonged to the Northwest 
Company, contained a great number of men. Now, how- 
ever, much of its glory has departed. Many of the 
buildings have been pulled down, and those that remain 
are very rickety-looking affairs. It is still, however, a 
very important fishing station, and many hundreds of 
beautiful white-fish, with which Lake Superior swarms, 
are salted there annually for the Canada markets. These 
white-fish are indeed excellent, and it is difficult to say 
whether they, or the immense trout which are also caught 
in abundance, have the most delicate flavor. These trout, 



230 HUDSON'S BAY. 

as well as white-fish, are caught in nets, and the former 
sometimes measure three feet long, and are propor- 
tionately broad. The one we had to breakfast on the 
morning of our arrival, must have been very nearly this 
size. 

The fur trade of the post is not very good, but the furs 
traded are similar to those obtained in other parts of the 
country. 

A number of canotes de maitre, or very large canoes, 
are always kept in store here, for the use of the Com- 
pany's travellers. These canoes are of the largest size, 
exceeding the north canoe in length by several feet, be- 
sides being much broader and deeper. They are used 
solely for the purpose of travelling on Lake Superior, be- 
ing much too large and cumbersome for travelling with 
through the interior. They are carried by four men in- 
stead of two, like the north canoe, and, besides being ca- 
pable of carrying twice as much cargo, are paddled by 
fourteen or sixteen men. Travellers from Canada to the 
interior generally change their canotes de maitre for north 
canoes at Fort William, before entering upon the intri- 
cate navigation through which we had already passed ; 
while those going from the interior to Canada change the 
small for the large canoe. As we had few men, however, 
and the weather appeared settled, we determined to risk 
coasting round the northern shore of the lake in our north 
canoe. 

The scenery around the fort is very pretty. In its im- 
mediate vicinity the land is flat, covered with small trees 
and willows, which are agreeably suggestive of partridges 
and other game ; but in the distance rise goodly-sized 
mountains ; and on the left hand, the noble expanse of 
the Lake Superior, with rocky islands on its mighty 



HUDSON'S BAY. 231 

bosom and abrupt hills on its shores, stretches out to the 
horizon. The fort is built at the mouth of the Kamenis- 
taquoia River, and from its palisades a beautiful view of 
the surrounding country can be obtained. 

As the men wanted rest, and our canoe a little repair, 
we determined to remain all day at Fort William ; so 
some of the men employed themselves re-gumming the 
canoe, while others spread out our blankets and tents to 
dr^ This last was very necessary, as on the journey we 
have little time to spare from eating and sleeping while 
on shore, and many a time have I, in consequence, slept 
in a wet blanket. 

The fair lady of the gentleman in charge of the fort 
was the only lady at the place, and, indeed, the only one 
within a circuit of six hundred miles, which space, being 
the primeval forest, was inhabited only by wild beasts 
and a few Indians. She was, consequently, very much 
delighted to meet with Mrs. Bain, who, having for so 
many days seen no one but* rough voyageurs, was equally 
delighted to meet her. While they Avent off to make the 
most of each other, Mr. Bain and I sauntered about in 
the vicinity of the fort, admiring the beauty of the scenery, 
and paid numerous visits to a superb dairy in the fort, 
which overflowed with milk and cream. I rather think 
that we admired the dairy more than the scenery. There 
were a number of cows at the post, a few of which we 
encountered in our walk, and also a good many pigs and 
sheep. In the evening we returned, and at tea were in- 
troduced to a postmaster, who had been absent when we 
arrived. This postmaster turned out to be a firstrate 
player of Scotch reels on the violin. He was self-taught, 
and truly the sweetness and precision with which he 
played every note and trill of the rapid reel and strath- 



232 HUDSON'S BAY. 

spey might have made Neil Gow himself envious. So 
beautiful and inspiriting were they, that Mr. Bain and 
our host, Mdio were both genuine Highlanders, jumped 
simultaneously from their seats, in an ecstasy of enthu- 
siasm, and danced to the lively music till the very walls 
shook, much to the amusement of the two ladies, who, 
having been both born in Canada, could not so well ap- 
preciate the music. Indeed the musician himself looked 
a little astonished, being quite ignorant of the endeamng 
recollections and associations recalled to the memory of 
the two Highlanders by the rapid notes of his violin. 
They were not, however, to be contented with one reel ; so, 
after fruitlessly attempting to make the ladies join us, we 
sent over to the men's houses for the old Canadian wife 
of Pierre Lattinville, and her two blooming daughters. 
They soon came, and after much coyness, blushing, and 
hesitation, at last stood up, and under the inspiring influ- 
ence of the violin, we 

" Danced till we were like to fa' 
The reel o' Tullochgorum ! " 

and did not cease till the lateness of the hour and the 
exhaustion of our musician compelled us to give in. 

On the following morning we bade adieu to the good 
people at Fort William, and began our journey along the 
northern shore of Lake Superior, which is upwards of 
three hundred miles in diameter. Fortune, however, is 
proverbially fickle, and she did not belie her character on 
this particular day. The weather, when we started, was 
calm and clear, which pleased us much, as we had to make 
what is called a traverse — that is, to cross from one point 
of land to another, instead of coasting round a very deep 
bay. The traverse which we set out to make on leaving 
Fort William was fourteen miles broad, which made it of 



HUDSON'S BAY. 233 

some consequence our having a calm day to cross it in 
our little egg-shell of a canoe. Away we went, then, ovqt 
the clear lake, singing " Rose Blanche " vociferously. We 
had already gone a few miles of the distance, when a 
dark cloud rose on the seaward horizon. Presently the 
water darkened under the influence of a stiff breeze ; and 
in less than half an hour the waves were rolling and boil- 
ing around us like those of the Atlantic. Ahead of us 
lay a small island, about a mile distant, and towards this 
the canoe was steered ; while the men urged it forward 
as quickly as the roughness of the sea would allow. Still 
the wind increased, and the island was not yet gained. 
Some of the waves had broken over the edge of the 
canoe, and she was getting filled with water ; but a kind 
Providence permitted us to reach the island in safety, 
though not in comfort, as most of the men were much 
wet, and many of them a good deal frightened. 

On landing, we pitched our tents, made a fire, and pro- 
ceeded to dry ourselves, and in less than an hour were 
as comfortable as possible. The island on which we had 
encamped was a small rocky one, covered with short 
heathery-looking shrubs, among which we found thou- 
sands of blaeberries. On walking round to the other side 
of it, I discovered an Indian encamped with his family. 
He supplied us with a fine white-fish, for which our men 
gave him a little tobacco and a bit of the fresh mutton 
which we had brought with us from Fort WilKam. 

Three days did we remain on this island, while the 
wind and waves continued unceasingly to howl and lash 
around it, as if they wished, in their disappointment, to 
beat it down and swallow us up, island and all ; but, 
towards the close of the third day, the gale moderated and 
we ventured again to attempt the traverse. This time 



234 HUDSON'S BAY. 

we succeeded, and in two hours passed Thunder Point, 
on the other side of which we encamped. 

The next day we could only travel till breakfast-time, 
as the wind again increased so much as to oblige us to 
put ashore. We comforted ourselves, however, with the 
prospect of a good mutton-chop. 

The fire was soon made, the kettle on, and everything 
in preparation, when the dreadful discovery was made 
that the whole of the fresh mutton had been forgotten ! 
,Words cannot paint our consternation at this discovery. 
Poor Mrs. Bain sat in mute despair, thinking of the mis- 
ery of being reduced again to salt pork ; while her hus- 
band, who had hitherto stood aghast, jumped suddenly 
forward, and seizing a bag of fine potatoes that had 
been given to the men, threw it, in a transport of rage, 
into the lake, vowing that as we were, by their negli- 
gence, to be deprived of our mutton, they certainly should 
also be sufferers with us. 

It was very laughable to behold the rueful countenances 
of the men, as their beautiful, large, white potatoes sank 
to the bottom of the clear water, and shone brightly there, 
as if to tantalize them, while the rippling water caused 
them to quiver so much, that the lake seemed to rest on 
a pavement of huge potatoes ! None dared, however, 
attempt to recover one ; but, after a while, when Mr. 
Bain's back was turned^ a man crept cautiously down to 
the water's edge, and gathered as many as were within 
reach, — always, however, keeping an eye on his master, 
and stooping in an attitude that would permit of his 
bolting up on the slightest indication of a wrathful move- 
ment. 

It M^ould be tedious, as well as unnecessary, to recount 
here all the minutias of our voyage across Lake Superior ; 



HUDSON'S BAY. 235 

I shall merely touch on a few of the more particular in- 
cidents. 

On the 1st of October we arrived at the Pic House,* 
where we spent the night ; and, after a rough voyage, 
reached Michipicoton on the 4th. Our voyage along 
Lake Superior was very stormy and harassing, remind- 
ing us often of Lake Winnipeg. Sometimes we were pad- 
dling along over the smooth water, and at other times 
lying-hy, while the lake was lashed into a mass of foam 
and billows by a strong gale. So much detention, and 
the lateness of the season, rendered it necessary to take 
advantage of every lull and calm hour that occurred, so 
that we travelled a good deal during the night. This 
sort of travelling was very romantic. 

On one occasion, after having been ashore two days, 
the wind moderated in the afternoon, and we determined 
to proceed if possible. The sun set gloriously, giving 
promise of fine weather. The sky was clear and cloud- 
less and the lake calm. For an hour or so, the men sang 
as they paddled, but as the shades of evening fell, they 
ceased ; and as it was getting rather chilly, I wrapped 
myself in my green blanket (which served me for a boat- 
cloak as well as a bed), and soon fell fast asleep. 

How long I slept I know not ; but when I awoke, the 
regular, rapid hiss of the paddles struck upon my ear, and 
upon throwing off the blanket, the first thing that met my 
eye was the dark sky spangled with the most gorgeous 
and brilliant stars I ever beheld. The whole scene, in- 
deed, was one of the most magnificent and awful that can 
be imagined. On our left hand rose tremendous precipices 
and cliffs, around the bottom and among the caverns of 

* It must be borne in mind, that all the establishments we passed 
on the way belonged to the Hudson's Bay Company. 



236 HUDSON'S BAY. 

which the black waters of the lake curled quietly, (for a 
most deathlike, unearthly calm prevailed,) sending forth 
a faint, hollow murmur, which ended at long intervals in 
a low, melancholy cadence. Before and behind us, abrupt, 
craggy islands rose from the water, assuming every im- 
aginable and unimaginable shape in the uncertain light ; 
while on the right, the eye ranged over the inky lake, till 
it was lost in thick darkness. A thin, transparent night- 
fog added to the mystical appearance of the scene, upon 
which I looked with mingled feelings of wonder and awe. 
The only distinct sound that could be heard was the 
measured sound of the paddles, which the men plied in 
silence, as if unwilling to break the stillness of the night. 
Suddenly the guide uttered in a hoarse whisper, " A 
terre ! " startling the sleepy men, and rendering the suc- 
ceeding silence still more impressive. 

The canoe glided noiselessly through a maze of narrow 
passages among the tall cliffs, and grounded on a stony 
beach. Everything was then carried up, and the tents 
pitched in the dark, as no wood could be conveniently 
found for the purpose of making a fire ; and without tak- 
ing any supper, or even breaking the solemn silence of 
the night, we spread our beds as we best could upon the 
round stones (some of which were larger than a man's 
fist), and sank into repose. About a couple of hours 
afterwards we were roused by the anxious guide, and 
told to embark again. In this way we travelled at night 
or by day, as the weather permitted, and even, upon one 
or two occasions, both night and day, till the 12 th of Oc- 
tober, when we arrived at the Saiilt de Ste. Marie — which 
is situated at the termination of Lake Superior — ^just as 
our provisions were exhausted. 

We had thus taken eighteen days to coast the lake. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 237 

This was very slow going indeed, the usual time for 
coasting the lake in a north canoe being from eight to 
ten days. 

The Sault de Ste. Marie is a large rapid, which carries 
the waters of Lake Superior into Lake Huron. It sep- 
arates the British from the American possessions, and is 
fortified on the American side by a large wooden fort, in 
which a body of soldiers are constantly resident. There 
is also a pretty large village of Americans, which is rap- 
idly increasing The British side is not fortified, and, 
indeed, there are no houses of any kind except the few 
belonging to the Hudson's Bay Company. This may be 
considered the extreme outskirts of civilization, being the 
first place where I had seen any number of people col- 
lected together who were unconnected with the Hudson's 
Bay Company. 

I was not destined, however, to enjoy the sight of 
new faces long ; for next morning we started to coast 
round the northern and uninhabited shores of Lake Hu- 
ron, and so down the Ottawa to Montreal. Mr. and Mrs. 
Bain left me here, and proceeded by the route of the 
Lakes. 

During the next few days w^e travelled through a num- 
ber of rivers and lakes of various sizes ; among the latter 
were Lakes Huron and Nipisingue. In crossing the lat- 
ter, I observed a point on which were erected fourteen 
rough wooden crosses ; such an unusual sight excited my 
curiosity, and upon inquiring, I found that they were 
planted there to mark the place, where a canoe, contain- 
ing fourteen men, had been upset in a gale, and every 
soul lost. The lake was clear and smooth when we 
passed the melancholy spot, and many a rolling year has 
defaced and cast down the crosses since the unfortunate 



238 HUDSON'S BAY. 

men whose sad fate tliey commemorate, perished in the 
storm. 

While searching about the shore one night for wood to 
make a fire, one of our men found a large basket, made of 
bark, and filled with fine bears'-grease, which had been 
bid by some Indians. This was considered a great wind- 
fall, and ere two days were passed, the whole of it was 
eaten by the men, who buttered their flour cakes with it 
profusely. 

Not long after this we passed a large waterfall, where 
a friend of mine was once very nearly lost. A project- 
ing point obliges the traveller to run his canoe rather 
near the head of the fall, for the purpose of landing to 
make the j)ortage. From long habit the guides had been 
accustomed to this, and always effected the doubling of 
the point in safety. Upon this occasion, however, either 
from carelessness or accident, the canoe got into the strong 
current, and almost in an instant was swept down towards 
the /all. To turn the head of the canoe up the stream, 
and paddle for their lives, was the work of a moment ; 
but before they got it fairly round, they were on the very 
brink of the cataract, which, had they gone over it, would 
have dashed them to a thousand atoms. They paddled 
with the strength of desperation, but so strong was the 
current, that they remained almost stationary. At last 
they began slowly to ascend, an inch at a time, and finally 
reached the bank in safety. 

On Sunday, the 19th of October we commenced de- 
scending the magnificent river Ottawa, and began to feel 
that we were at last approaching the civilized nations of 
the earth. During the day we passed several small log- 
huts, or shanties, which are the temporary dwelling- 
places of men who penetrate thus far into the forest for 



HUDSON'S ^BAY. 239 

the purpose of cutting timber. A canoe full of these 
adventurous pioneers also passed us ; and in the evening 
we reached Fort Mattawan, one of the Company's sta- 
tions. At night we encamped along with a party who 
were taking provisions to the wood-cutters. 

The scenery on the Ottawa is beautiful, and as we 
descended the stream it was rendered more picturesque 
and interesting by the appearance, occasionally, of that, 
to us, unusual sight, a farm-house. They were too few 
and far between, however, to permit of our taking ad- 
vantage of the inhabitants' hospitality ; and for the next 
four days we continued to make our encampments in the 
woods as heretofore. At one of these frontier farms, our 
worthy guide discovered, to his unutterable astonishment 
and delight, an old friend and fellow voyageur, to greet 
whom he put ashore. Tlie meeting was strange : instead 
of shaking hands warmly, as I had expected, they stood 
for a moment gazing in astonishment, and then, with 
perfect solemnity, kissed each other — not gently on the 
cheek, but with a good, hearty smack on their sunburnt 
lips. After conversing for a little, they parted with 
another kiss. 

On the fourth day after this event, we came in sight 
of the village of Aylmer, which lay calmly on the sloping 
banks of the river, its church spire glittering in the sun, 
and its white houses reflected in the stream. 

It is difficult to express the feelings of delight with 
which I gazed upon this little village, after my long ban- 
ishment from the civilized world. It was like recover- 
ing from a trance of four long dreamy years ; and I 
wandered about the streets, gazing in joy and admiration 
upon everything and everybody, but especially upon the 
ladies, who appeared quite a strange race of beings to 



240 HUDSON'S BAY. 

me, and all of them looked so beautiful in my eyes (long 
accustomed to Indian dames), that I fell in love with 
every one individually that passed me in the village. In 
this happy mood, I sauntered about, utterly oblivious of 
the fact that my men had been left in a public-house, and 
would infallibly, if not prevented, get dead drunk. I 
was soon awakened to this startling probability by the 
guide, who walked up the road in a very solemn I'm-not- 
at-all-drunk sort of a manner, peering about on every 
side, evidently in search of me. Having found me, he 
burst into an expression of unbounded joy, and then, 
recollecting that this was inconsistent with his assumed 
character of sobriety, became awfully grave, and told me 
that we must start soon, as the men were all getting 
tipsy. 

The following day we arrived at Bytown. 

This town is picturesquely situated on the brow of a 
stupendous cliff, which descends precipitously into the 
Ottawa. Just above the town a handsome bridge 
stretches across the river, near which the Kettle Fall 
thunders over a high cliff. We only stayed a few min- 
utes here, and then proceeded on our way. 

During the day we passed the locks of the Rideau 
Canal, which rise, to the number of eight or ten, one 
over another like steps ; and immediately below them 
appeared the Curtain Falls. These falls are not very 
picturesque, but their great height and curtain-like 
smoothness render them an interesting object. After 
this, villages and detached houses became numerous all 
the way down the river ; and late in the evening of the 
24th, we arrived at a station belonging to the Hudson's 
Bay Company, on the Lake of the Two Mountains, 
where we passed the remainder of the night. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 241 

Here, for the first time since leaving home, I was 
ushered into a civilized drawing-room ; and when I found 
myself seated on a cushioned chair, with my moccasined 
feet pressing a soft carpet, and several real, bond fide la- 
dies (the wife and daughters of my entertainer) sitting 
before me, and asking hundreds of questions about my 
long voyage, the strange species of unbelief in the pos- 
sibility of again seeing the civilized world, which had 
beset me for the last three years, began slowly to give 
way, and at last entirely vanished, when my host showed 
me into a handsomely furnished bedroom, and left me for 
the night. 

The first thing that struck me on entering the bed- 
room was the appearance of one of our voyageurs^ dressed 
in a soiled blue capote, dilapidated corduroy trousers, and 
moccasins ; while his deeply sunburnt face, under a mass 
of long straggling hair, stared at me in astonishment! 
It will doubtless be supposed that I was much horrified 
at this apparition. I was, indeed, much surprised ; but 
seeing that it was my own image reflected in a full-length 
looking-glass, I cannot say that I felt extremely horrified. 
This was the first time that I had seen myself — if I may 
so speak — since leaving Norway House; and, truly, I 
had no reason to feel proud of my appearance. 

The following morning, at four o'clock, we left the 
Lake of the Two Mountains ; and in the afternoon of 
the 25th October 1845, arrived at Lachine, where, for 
the time, my travels came to a close — having been jour- 
neying in the wilderness for sixty-six days. 

The village of Lachine is prettily situated on the 
banks of the St. Lawrence, about nine miles above Mon- 
treal. The country around it is populous and pretty, 
16 



242 HUDSON'S BAY. 

and the view across the river beautiful. Just in front 
of the Hudson's Bay House — where I was soon installed 
— is the Lachine Canal, up and down which steamers 
and barges are constantly passing. Beyond this flows 
the majestic river St. Lawrence, here nearly two miles 
broad ; and on the opposite shore lies the village of 
Ookanawagan, inhabited by a tribe of Iroquois Indians. 
Lachine itself is very small ; its only street, however, is 
well peopled, and the houses of which it is composed are 
scattered over a large space of ground. The Hudson's 
Bay House is the most imposing building about the 
place, but it does not reflect much credit on its architect. 
There are three churches in the village, — a Presbyte- 
rian, Episcopalian, and Roman Catholic church, the latter 
being most generally attended by the inhabitants, who 
are chiefly French Canadians. 

Soon after my arrival, winter set in, and I became ac- 
quainted with a few of the inhabitants of Lachine. The 
moment the snow fell, wheeled carriages were superseded 
by carioles and sleighs of all descriptions. These beau- 
tiful vehicles are mounted on runners, or large skates, 
and slide very smoothly and easily over the snow, ex- 
cept when the road is bad ; and then, oAving to the want 
of springs, sleighs become very rough carriages indeed. 
They are usually drawn by one horse, the harness and 
trappings of which are profusely covered with small 
round bells. These bells are very necessary appendages, 
as little noise is made by the approach of a sleigh over 
the soft snow, and they serve to warn travellers in the 
dark. The cheerful tinkling music thus occasioned on 
the Canadian roads is very pleasing. Sleighs vary a 
good deal in structure and costliness of decoration ; and 
one often meets a rough, cheerful Canadian habitant sit- 



HUDSON'S BAY. 243 

ting in his small box of a sledge (painted sometimes red 
and sometimes green), lashing away at his shaggy pony, 
in a fruitless attempt to keep up with the large, graceful 
sleigh of a wealthy inhabitant of Montreal, who, wrapped 
up in furs, drives tandem, with two strong horses, and 
loudly tinkling bells. 

Eeader, I had very nearly come to the resolution of 
giving you a long account of Canada and the Canadians, 
but I dare not venture on it. I feel that it would be 
encroaching upon the ground of civihzed authors ; and 
as I do not belong to this class, but profess to write of 
savage life — and nothing but savage life — I hope you 
will extend to me your kind forgiveness if I conclude 
this chapter rather abruptly. 

It is a true saying, that the cup of happiness is often 
dashed from the lips that are about to taste it. I have 
sometimes proved this to be the case. The cup of hap- 
piness, on the present occasion, was the enjoyment of 
civilized and social life ; and the dashing of it away was 
my being sent, with very short warning, to an out-of-the- 
way station, whose name, to me, was strange — distance 
uncertain, but long — appearance unknown, and geograph- 
ical position a most profound mystery. 



244 HUDSON'S BAY. 



CHAPTER XL 

WINTER TRAVELLING IN CANADA— TADOUS AC, ETC. 

TT was on a bright winter's day in tiie month of Jan- 
uary, 1846, that I was sent for by the Governor, and 
told to hold myself in readiness to start early the follow- 
ing morning with Mr. Stone for Tadoiisac, adding, that 
probably I should spend the approaching summer at 
Seven Islands. 

Tadousac, be it known, is a station about three hundred 
miles below Montreal, on the mouth of the river Sague- 
nay, and Seven Islands is two hundred miles below 
Tadousac ; so that the journey is not a short one. The 
greater part of the road runs through an uninhabited 
country, and the travelling is bad. 

In preparation for this journey, then, I employed my- 
self during the remainder of the day ; and before night 
all was ready. 

Next morning I found that our journey was postponed 
to the following day, so I went into Montreal to make 
a few purchases, and passed the rest of the day in a state 
of intense thought, endeavoring to find out if anything 
had been forgotten. Nothing, however, recurred to my 
memory, and going to bed only half undressed, in order 
to be ready at a moment's notice, I soon fell into a short 
disturbed slumber, from which the servant awakened me 
long before daylight, by announcing that the sleigh was at 
the door. In ten minutes I was down stairs, where Mr. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 247 

Stone shortly afterwards joined me ; and after seeing our 
traps safely dej^osited in the bottom of the sleigh, we 
jumped in, and slid noiselessly over the quiet street of 
Laehine. 

The stars shone brightly as we glided over the crunch- 
ing snow, and the sleigh-bells tinkled merrily as our 
horse sped over the deserted road. Groups of white 
cottages, and solitary gigantic trees, flew past us, looking, 
in the uncertain light, like large snow-drifts ; save where 
the twinkhng of a candle, or the first blue flames of the 
morning fire, indicated that the industrious habitant had 
risen to his daily toil. In silence we glided on our way, 
till the distant lights of Montreal awakened us from our 
reveries, and we met at intervals a solitary pedestrian, or 
a sleigh-load of laughing, fur-encompassed faces, return- 
ing from an evening party. 

About seven o'clock we arrived at the hotel from 
which the stage was to start for Quebec, — but when did 
stage-coach, or sleigh either, keep to its time ? No sign 
of it was to be seen, and it required no small application 
of our knuckles and toes at the door to make the lazy 
waiter turn out to let us in. No misery, save being too 
late, can equal that of being too soon ; at least, so I 
thought, while walking up and down the coffee-room of 
the hotel, upon the table of which were scattered the re- 
mains of last night's supper, amid a confusion of news- 
papers and fag-ends of cigars ; while the sleepy waiter 
made unavailing efforts to coax a small spark of fire to 
contribute some warmth to one or two damp billets of 
wood. 

About an hour after its appointed time, the sleigh 
drove up to the door, and we hastened to take our places. 
The stage, however, was full, but the driver informed us 



248 HUDSON'S BAY. 

that an "extra" (or separate sleigh of smaller dimen- 
sions than the stage) had been provided for us ; so that 
we enjoyed the enviable advantage of having it all to 
ourselves. Crack went the whip, and off went the leader 
with a bound, the wheeler following at a pace between a 
trot and a gallop, and our " extra " keeping close in the 
rear. The lamps were still burning as we left the city, 
although the first streaks of dawn illumined the eastern 
sky. In fifteen minutes more we had left Montreal far 
behind. 

There is something very agreeable in the motion of a 
sleigh along a good road.' The soft muffled sound of the 
runners gliding over the snow harmonizes well with the 
tinkling bells ; and the rapid motion through the frosty 
air, together with the occasional jolt of going into a hol- 
low, or over a hillock, is very exhilarating, and we en- 
joyed our drive very much for the first hour or so. But, 
alas ! human happiness is seldom of long duration, as we 
soon discovered ; for, just as I was falling into a comfort- 
able doze, bang ! went the sleigh into a deep " cahoe," 
which most effectually wakened me. Now these same 
" cahoes " are among the disadvantages attending sleigh 
travelling in Canada. They are nothing more or less 
than deep hollows or undulations in the road, into which 
the sleighs unexpectedly plunge, thereby pitching the 
traveller roughly forward ; and upon the horses jerking 
the vehicles out of them, throwing him backward in a 
way that is pretty sure to bring his head into closer ac- 
quaintance with the back of the sleigh than is quite 
agreeable, particularly if he be a novice in sleigh travel- 
ling. Those wdiich we now encountered were certainly 
the worst I ever travelled over, rising in succession like 
the waves of the sea, and making our conveyance plunge 



HUDSON'S BAY. 249 

sometimes so roughly that I expected it to go to pieces. 
Indeed, I cannot understand how wood and iron could 
stand the crashes to which we were exposed. In this 
way we jolted along, sometimes over good, sometimes 
over bad roads, till about nine o'clock, when we stopped 
at a neat, comfortable-looking inn, where the driver 
changed his horses, and the passengers sat down to a 
hurried breakfast. 

The morning turned out beautifully clear and warm, 
at least in comparison with what it had been ; and upon 
reentering the sleigh we all looked extremely happy, and 
disposed to be pleased with everything and everybody. 
The country through which we now passed was pictu- 
resque and varied. Hills and valleys, covered with glit- 
tering snow and dark pines, followed each other in end- 
less succession ; while in every valley, and from every 
mountain-top, we saw hundreds of hamlets and villages, 
whose little streets and thoroughfares were crowded with 
busy habitants, engaged in their various occupations and 
winter traffic. 

The laughing voices of merry little children, romping 
along the roads, accorded harmoniously with the lively 
tinkling of their parents' sleigh-bells as they set out for 
the market with the produce of their farms, or, dressed 
in their whitest blanket capotes and smartest bonnets 
rouge, accompanied their wives and daughters to a mar- 
riage or a festival. The scene was rendered still more 
pleasing by the extreme clearness of the frosty air and 
the deep blue of the sky ; while the weather was just 
cold enough to make the rapid motion of our sleighs 
agreeable and necessary. 

In some places the roads were extremely precipitous ; 
and when we arrived at the foot of a large hill, we used 



250 HUDSON'S BAY. 

generally to get out and walk, preferring this to being 
dragged slowly up by the jaded horses. 

During the day our sleighs were upset several times ; 
but Mr. Stone and I, in the " extra," suiFered more in 
this way than those of the regular stage, as it was much 
narrower, and, consequently, more liable to tip over. 
Upon upsetting, it unaccountably happened that poor 
Mr. Stone was always undermost. But he submitted to 
his fate most stoically ; though from the nature of things 
my elbow invariably thrust him deep into the snow, on 
which, after being extricated, a splendid profile impres- 
sion was left, to serve as a warning to other travellers,* 
and to show them that a gentleman had been cast there. 

As very little danger, however, attended these acci- 
dents, they only afforded subject for mirth at the time, T^ 
and conversation at the end of the stage — except once, ^ 
when the sleigh turned over so rapidly, that I was thrown fif^ 
with considerable force against the roof, which, being of ^^ 
a kind of slight framework, covered with painted canvas, R-t^ 
offered but small opposition to my flight ; my head, con> c '■' 
sequently, went quite through it, and my unfortunate 
nose was divested to rather an alarming extent of its 
cutaneous covering. With this exception, we proceeded 
safely and merrily along, and about seven o'clock in the 
evening arrived at the small town of Three Rivers. 

Early next morning we resumed our journey, and • 
about four in the afternoon arrived at the famous city 
of Quebec, without having encountered any very inter- 
esting adventures by the way. 

The first sight we had of Quebec was certainly any- 
thing but prepossessing. A recent fire in the lower town 
had completely destroyed a large portion of it ; and the 
first street I passed through was nothing but a gaunt 



HUDSON'S BAY. 251 

row of blackened chimneys and skeleton houses, which 
had a very melancholy ghostlike appearance, when con- 
trasted with the white snow. As we advanced, however, 
to where the fire had been checked, the streets assumed 
a more agreeable aspect — shops were open here and 
there, and workmen busily employed in repairing dam- 
aged houses, and pulling down dangerous ones. Upon 
arriving at the steep street which leads from the lower 
town to within the walls, the immense strength of the 
ramparts and fortifications struck me forcibly. The road 
up which we passed to the gate was very narrow ; on 
one side a steep hill descended to the lower town ; and 
on the other towered the city walls, pierced all over with 
loop-holes, and bristling with cannon. At the head of 
the road, in an angle of the wall, two silent but grim- 
looking guns pointed their muzzles directly down the 
road, so as to command it from one end to the other. 
All the other parts of the walls that I happened to see 
were even more strongly fortified than this. 

The streets of Quebec are very steep, much more so 
than those of Edinburgh ; and it is no small exertion to 
mount one or two without stopping to breathe at the 
top. Upon the whole, it is anything but a pretty town, 
(at least in winter) — the houses being high, and the 
streets very narrow. The buildings, too, are common- 
place, and the monument to Wolfe and Montcalm is a 
very insignificant affair. In fact, Quebec can boast of 
little else than the magnificent views it commands from 
the ramparts, and the impregnable strength of its for- 
tifications. Some of the suburban villas, however, are 
very beautiful ; and although I saw them in winter, yet 
I could form some idea of the enchanting places they must 
be in summer. 



252 HUDSON'S BAY. 

After spending three pleasant days here, we got into 
our sleigh again, and resumed our journey. 

No stages ran below Quebec, so that we now travelled 
in the sleigh of a farmer, who happened to be going 
down part of the way. 

Soon after leaving the city, we passed quite close to 
the famous Falls of Montmorenci. They are as high, if 
not higher than those of Niagara, but I thought them 
rather tame, being nothing but a broad curtain of water 
falling over an even cliff, and quite devoid of picturesque 
scenery. A curious cone of ice, formed by the spray, 
rose nearly half-way up the falls. 

The scenery below Quebec is much more rugged and 
mountainous than that above ; and, as we advanced, the 
marks of civilization began gradually to disappear — vil- 
lages became scarcer, and roads worse, till at last we 
came to the shanties of the wood-cutters, with here and 
there a solitary farm-house. Still, however, we occa- 
sionally met a few sleighs, with the conductors of which 
our driver seemed to be intimately acquainted. These 
little interruptions broke, in a great degree, the monotony 
of the journey ; and we always felt happier for an hour 
after having passed and exchanged with a Canadian a 
cheerful bonjour. 

Our driver happened to be a very agreeable man, and 
more intelligent than most Canadians of his class ; more- 
over, he had a good voice, and when we came to a level 
part of the road, I requested him to sing me a song, 
which he did at once — singing with a clear, strong, 
manly voice, the most beautiful French air I ever heard ; 
both the name and air, however I have now forgotten. 
He then asked me to sing, which I did without further 
ceremony, treating him to one of the ancient melodies of 



HUDSON'S BAY. 253 

Scotland ; and thus, with solos and duets, we beguiled 
the tedium of the road, and filled the woods with melody ! 
much to the annoyance of the unmusical American feath- 
ered tribes, and to the edification of our horse, who 
pricked up his ears, and often glanced backwards, ap- 
parentfy in extreme surprise. 

Towards evening, the driver told us that we should 
soon arrive at Bale de St. Paul, and in half an hour more 
our weary horse dragged us slowly to the top of a hill 
whence we had a splendid view of the village. In all the 
miles of country I had passed over, I had seen nothing to 
equal the exquisite beauty of the Vale of Baie de St. 
Paul. From the hill on which we stood, the whole 
valley, of many miles in extent, was visible. It was per- 
fectly level, and covered from end to end with thousands 
of little hamlets and several churches, with here and there 
a few small patches of forest. The course of a httle 
rivulet, which meanders through it in summer, was ap- 
parent, even though cover^ with snow. At the mouth 
of this, several schooners and small vessels lay imbedded 
in ice ; beyond which rolled the dark, ice-laden waves of 
the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The whole valley teemed 
with human hfe. Hundreds of Canadians, in their grace- 
ful sleighs and carioles, flew over the numerous roads 
intersecting the country ; and the fiiint sound of tinkling 
bells floated gently up the mountain side, till it reached 
the elevated position on which we stood. The whole 
scene was exquisitely calm and peaceful, forming a strange 
and striking contrast to the country round it. Like • the 
Happy Valley of Rasselas, it was surrounded by the most 
wild and rugged mountains, which rose in endless succes- 
sion, one behind another, stretching away in the distance 
till they resembled a faint blue wave on the horizon. In 



254 HUDSON'S BAY. 

this beautiful place we spent the night, and the following 
at Mai Bale. This village was also pretty, but after Bale 
de St. Paul I could but little admire it. 

Next night we slept in a shanty belonging to the tim- 
ber-cutters on the coast of the gulf, Avhich was truly the 
most wretched abode, except an Indian tent, I ever had 
the chance (or mischance) to sleep in. It was a small 
log-hut, with only one room ; a low door — to enter which 
we had to stoop — and a solitary square window, filled 
with parchment in lieu of glass. The furniture was of 
the coarsest description, and certainly not too abundant. 
Everything was extremely dirty, and the close air was 
further adulterated with thick clouds of tobacco smoke, 
which curled from the pipes of half a dozen wood-chop- 
pers. Such was the place in which we passed the night ; 
and glad was I when the first blush of day summoned 
us to resume our travels. We now entered our sleigh 
for the last time, and after a short drive arrived at the 
termination of the horse road. Here we got out, and 
rested a short time in a shanty, preparatory to taking to 
our snow-shoes. 

The road now lay through the primeval forest, and 
fortunately it proved to be pretty well beaten, so we 
walked lightly along, with our snow-shoes under our 
arms. In the afternoon we arrived at another shanty, 
having walked about eighteen miles. Here we found a 
crentleman who superintended the operations of the 
lumberers, or wood-cutters. He kindly offered to drive 
us to Canard River, a place not far distant from the ter- 
mination of our journey. I need scarcely say we gladly 
accepted his offer, and in a short time arrived at the river 
Saguenay. 

This river, owing to its immense depth, never freezes 



HUDSON'S BAY. 255 

over at its mouth ; so we crossed it in a boat, and on the 
evening of the 7th of February we arrived at the post of 
Tadousac. 

This establishment belongs to the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany, and is situated at the bottom of a large and deep 
bay adjoining the mouth of the river Saguenay. Unlike 
the posts of the north, it is merely a group of houses, 
scattered about in a hollow of the mountains, without any 
attempt at arrangement, and without a stockade. The 
post, when viewed from one of the hills in the neighbor- 
hood, is rather picturesque ; it is seen imbedded in the 
mountains, and its white-topped houses contrast prettily 
with the few pines around it. A little to the right rolls 
the deep, unfathomable Saguenay, at the base of precipi- 
tous rocks and abrupt mountains, covered in some places 
with stunted pines, but for the most part bald-fronted. 
Up the river, the view is interrupted by a large rock, 
nearly round, which juts out into the stream, and is 
named the " Bull." To the right lies the Bay of St. 
Catherine, with a new settlement at its head ; and above 
this flows the majestic St. Lawrence, compared to which 
the broad Saguenay is but a thread. 

Tadousac Bay is one of the finest natural harbors in 
the St. Lawrence. Being very deep quite close to the 
shore, it is much frequented by vessels and craft of every 
description and dimension. Ships, schooners, barks, 
brigs, and batteaux, lie calmly at anchor within a stone's- 
throw of the bushes on shore ; others are seen beating 
about at the mouth of the harbor, attempting to enter ; 
while numerous pilot boats sail up and down, almost 
under the windows of the house ; and in the offing axe 
hundreds of vessels, whose white sails glimmer on the 
horizon like the wings of sea-gulls, as they beat up for 



256 HUDSON'S BAY. 

anchorage, or proceed on their course for England or Que- 
bec. The magnificent panorama is closed by the distant 
hills of the opposite shore, blending with the azure sky. 
This, however, is the only view, the land being a mono- 
tonous repetition of bare granite hills and stunted pines.* 

Here, then, for a time, my travels came to a close, 
and I set about making myself as comfortable in my new 
quarters as circumstances would permit. 

Tadousac I found to be similar, in many respects, to 
the forts in the north. The country around was wild, 
mountainous, and inhabited only by a few Indians and 
wild animals. There was no society, excepting that of 
Mr. Stone's family ; the only other civilized being, above 
the rank of a laborer, being a gentleman who superin- 
tended a timber-cutting and log-sawing establishment, a 
quarter of a mile from the Company's post. 

My bourgeois Mr. Stone was a very kind man, and an 
entertaining companion. He had left Scotland, his native 
land, when very young ; and had ever since been travel- 
ling about and dwelling in the wild woods of America. 
A deep scar on the bridge of his nose showed that he 
had not passed through these savage countries scathless. 
The way in which he came by this scar was curious ; so 
I may relate it here. 

At one of the solitary forts in the wild regions on the 
west side of the Rocky Mountains, where my friend Mr. 
Stone dwelt, the Indians were in the habit of selling 
horses — of which they had a great many — to the servants 

* It may be well to mention, that the above description applies to 
the country only in the summer and autumn months of the year. 
During winter, the navigation of the St. Lawrence is completely 
stopped by ice, and Tadousac then appeal's as represented in the en- 
graving. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 257 

of the Hudson's Bay Company. They had, however, an 
uncommonly disagreeable propensity to steal these horses 
again, the moment a convenient opportunity presented 
itself; and to guard against the gratification of this 
propensity was one of the many difficulties that the fur 
traders had to encounter. Upon one occasion, a fine 
horse was sold by an Indian to Mr. Stone ; the price 
(probably several yards of cloth and a few pounds of 
tobacco) paid, and the Indian went away. Not long 
after, the horse was stolen ; but as this was an event that 
often happened, it was soon forgotten. Winter passed 
away ; spring thawed the lakes and rivers ; and soon a 
party of Indians arrived, with furs and horses to trade. 
They were of the Blackfoot tribe, and a wilder set of 
fellows one would hardly wish to see. Being much in 
the habit of fighting with the neighboring tribes, they 
were quite prepared for battle, and decorated with many 
of the trophies of war. Scalp-locks hung from the skirts 
of their leather shirts and leggins. Eagles' feathers 
and beads ornamented their heads ; and their faces were 
painted with stripes of black and red paint. 

After conversing with them a short time, they were 
admitted through the wicket one by one, and their arms 
taken from them and locked up. This precaution was 
rendered necessary at these posts, as the Indians used to 
buy spirits, and often quarrelled with each other ; but, 
having no arms, of' course they could do themselves little 
damage. When about a dozen of them had entered, the 
gate was shut, and Mr. Stone proceeded to trade their 
furs, and examine their horses, when he beheld, to his 
surprise, the horse that had been stolen from him the 
summer before ; and upon asking to whom it belonged, 
the same Indian who had formerly sold it to him stood 
17 



258 - HUDSON'S BAY. 

forward and said it was his. Mr. Stone (an exceedingly 
quiet, good-natured man, but, like many men of this 
stamp, very passionate when roused) no sooner witnessed 
the fellow's audacity, than he seized a gun from one of 
his men, and shot the horse. The Indian instantly 
sprang upon him ; but, being a less powerful man than 
Mr. Stone, and, withal, unaccustomed to use his fists, he 
was soon overcome, and pommelled out of the fort. Not 
content with this, Mr. Stone followed him down to the 
Indian camp, pommelling him all the way. The instant, 
however, that the Indian found himself surrounded by 
his own friends, he faced about, and with a dozen war- 
riors attacked Mr. Stone and threw him on the ground, 
where they kicked and bruised him severely ; whilst 
several boys of the tribe hovered around him with bows 
and arrows, waiting a favorable opportunity to shoot him. 
Suddenly a savage came forward with a large stone in 
his hand, and, standing over his fallen enemy, raised it 
high in the air and dashed it down upon his face. My 
friend, when telling me the story, said that he had just 
time, upon seeing the stone in the act of falling, to com- 
mend his spirit to God ere he was rendered insensible. 
The merciful God, to whom he thus looked for help at 
the eleventh hour, did not desert him. Several men 
belonging to the fort, seeing the turn things took, hastily 
armed themselves, and hurrying out to the rescue, ar- 
rived just at the critical moment when the stone was 
dashed in his face. Though too late to prevent this, they 
were in time to prevent a repetition of the blow ; and, 
after a short scuffle with the Indians, without any blood- 
shed, they succeeded in carrying their master up to the 
fort, where he soon recovered. The deep cut made by 
the stone on the bridge of his nose left an indelible scar. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 259 

Besides Mr. Stone, I had another companion, namely, 
Mr. Jordan, a clerk, who inhabited the same office with 
me, and slept in the same bedroom, during the whole 
winter. He was a fine-looking, athletic half-breed, who 
had been partially educated, but had spent much more of 
his life among Indians than among civilized men. He 
used to be sent about the country to trade with the 
natives, and, consequently, led a much more active life 
than I did. One part of his business, during the early 
months of spring, was hunting seals. This was an amus- 
ing, though, withal, rather a murderous kind of sport. 
The manner of it was this : — 

My friend Jordan chose a fine day for his excursion ;- 
and, embarking in a boat with six or seven men, sailed a 
few miles down the St. Lawrence, till he came to a low 
flat point. In a small bay near this he drew up the boat, 
and then went into the woods with his party, where each 
man cut a large pole or club. Arming themselves with 
these, they waited until the tide receded, and left the 
point dry. In a short time, one or two seals crawled out 
of the sea to bask upon the shore ; soon several more 
appeared ; and, ere long, a band of more than a hundred 
lay sunning themselves upon the beach. The ambuscade 
now prepared to attack the enemy. Creeping stealthily 
down as near as was possible without being discovered, 
they simultaneously rushed upon the astonished animals ; 
and the tragic scene of slaughter, mingled with melo- 
dramatic and comic incidents, that ensued, baffles all de- 
scription. In one place might be seen my friend Jordan 
swinging a huge club round with his powerful arms, and 
dealing death and destruction at every blow ; while in 
another place, a poor weazened-looking Scotchman (who 
had formerly been a tailor ! and to whom the work was 



260 HUDSON'S BAY. 

new) advanced, with cautious trepidation, towards a huge 
seal, which spluttered and splashed fearfully in its en- 
deavors to reach the sea, and dealt it a blow on the back. 
He might as well have hit a rock. The slight rap had 
only the effect of making the animal show its teeth, at 
which sight the tailor retreated precipitately, and, strik- 
ing his heel against a rock, fell backwards into a pool of 
water, where he rolled over and over, impressed, appar- 
ently, with the idea that he was attacked by all the seals 
in the sea. His next essay, however, was more success- 
ful, and in a few minutes he killed several, having learned 
to hit on the head instead of on the back. In less than 
a quarter of an hour they killed between twenty and 
thirty seals, which were stowed in the boat, and conveyed 
tto the post. 

Nothing worth mentioning took place at Tadousac 
during my residence there. The winter became severe 
and stormy, confining us much to the house, and obliging 
us to lead very humdrum sort of lives. Indeed, the only 
thing that I can recollect as being at all interesting or 
amusing, was my becoming, on one occasion, a disciple of 
^sculapius. The Indians who were living near the post 
at the time had been very unhealthy ; and one afternoon 
an old sickly-looking fellow came to me, and said that he 
was not at all well, and wanted medicine. Upon hear- 
ing this, I questioned him very closely regarding the 
nature of his complaint; and, after much consideration, 
came to 'the conclusion that he had consumption, or some- 
thing of that sort. Being ignorant of the precise treat- 
ment necessary for this disease, I struck out a new line 
of treatment of my own ; so, going to the medicine-chest, 
I took out a strengthening plaster, and clapped it on 
his back ; and then, by way of counteracting its effects. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 261 

placed a blister on his chest, and, thus doctored, sent him 
away, with a recommendation not to go about much for 
a few days ! In a short time he became much better ; 
but whether from the effects of my treatment, or other 
causes, I will not take upon myself to say. 

This last essay of mine must have frightened the good 
people with whom I lived, and induced them to petition 
for my being sent away ; or perhaps Dame Fortune took 
a special pleasure in knocking me about the world ; but 
certain it is, that very shortly after the medical transac- 
tion mentioned in the foregoing paragraph, I received 
orders again to prepare for a journey ; and, as on many 
a former occasion, the time given me for preparation was 
not Ion ST. 



262 HUDSON'S BAY. 



CHAPTER Xn. 

A JOURNEY ON SNOW-SHOES— SEVEN ISLANDS, ETC. 

IT was on a cold, bleak morning, about the beginning of 
March, 1846, that I awoke from a comfortable snooze 
in my bedroom at Tadousac, and recollected that in a 
few hours I must take leave of my present quarters, and 
travel, on snow-shoes, sixty miles down the Gulf of St. 
Lawrence to the post of Isle Jeremie. 

The wind howled mournfully through the leafless trees, 
and a few flakes of snow fell upon the window, as I 
looked out upon the cheerless prospect. Winter — cold, 
biting, frosty winter — still reigned around. The shores 
of Tadousac Bay were still covered, with the same coat 
of ice that had bound them up four months before ; and 
the broad St. Lawrence still flowed on black as ink, and 
laden with immense fields and hummocks of dirty ice, 
brought down from the banks of the river above. The 
land presented one uniform chilling prospect of bare 
Irees and deep snow, over which I was soon to traverse 
many a weary mile. 

There is nothing, however, like taking things philo- 
sophically ; so, after venting my spite at the weather in 
one or two short grumbles, I sat down in a passable state 
of equanimity to breakfast. During the meal, I dis- 
cussed with Mr. Stone the prospects of the impending 
journey, and indulged in a few excursive remarks upon 
snow-shoe travelling ; whilst he related a few incidents 
of his own eventful career in the country. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 263 

On one occasion, he was sent off upon a long journey 
over the snow, where the country was so mountainous 
that snow-shoe walking was rendered exceedingly pain- 
ful, by the feet slipping forward against the front bar of 
the shoe when descending the hills. After he had ac- 
complished a good part of his journey, two large blisters 
rose under the nails of his great toes ; and soon the 
nails themselves came off. Still, he must go on, or die in 
the woods ; so he was obliged to tie the nails on his toes 
each morning before starting, for the purpose of protect- 
ing the tender parts beneath ; and every evening he 
wrapped them up carefully in a piece of rag, and put 
them into his waistcoat pocket — heing afraid of losing 
them if he kept them on all night. 

After breakfast, I took leave of my friends at Tadou- 
sac ; and, with a pair of snow-shoes under my arm, fol- 
lowed my companion Jordan to the boat which was to 
convey me the first twenty miles of the journey, and then 
land me, with one man who was to be my only compan- 
ion. In the boat was seated a Roman Catholic priest, 
on his way to visit a party of Indians a short distance 
down the gulf. The shivering men shipped their oars in 
silence ; and we glided through the black water, while 
the ice grated harshly against the boat's sides, as we 
rounded Point Rouge ; — another pull, and Tadousac was 
hidden from our view. 

Few things can be more comfortless or depressing than 
a sail down the Gulf of St. Lawrence on a gloomy win- 
ter's day, with the thermometer at zero! The water 
looks so black and cold, and the sky so gray that it makes 
one shudder, and turn to look upon the land. But there 
no cheering prospect meets the view. Rocks — cold, 
■ hard, misanthropic rocks — grin from beneath volumes of 



2G4 HUDSON'S BAY. 

snow ; and the few stunted, black-looking pines that dot 
the banks here and there only tend to render the scene 
more desolate. No birds fly about to enliven the travel- 
ler ; and the only sound that meets the ear, besides the 
low sighing of *iie cold, cold wind, is the crashing of im- 
mense fields of ice, as they meet and war in the eddies 
of opposing currents. Fortunately, however, there was 
no ice near the shore, and we met with little interrup- 
tion on the way. The priest bore the cold like a stoic ; 
and my friend Jordan, being made, metaphorically speak- 
ing, of iron, treated it with the contemptuous indifference 
that might be expected from such metal. 

In the evening we arrived at Esquimain River, where 
we took up our quarters in a small log-hut belonging to a 
poor seal-fisher, whose family, and a few men who at- 
tended a saw-mill a short distance off, were the only in- 
habitants of this little hamlet. Here we remained all 
night, and prepared our snow-shoes for the morrow, as 
the boat was there to leave us and return to Tadousac. 
The night was calm and frosty, and everything gave 
promise of fine weather for our journey. But who can 
tell what an hour will bring forth ? Before morning, 
the weather became milder, and soon it began to thaw. 
A fine warm day, with a bright sun, be it known, is one 
of the most dreadful calamities that can befall a snow- 
shoe traveller, as the snow then becomes soft and sticky, 
thereby drenching the feet and snow-shoes, which be- 
come painfully heavy from the quantity of snow which 
sticks to, and falls upon them. In cold, frosty weather 
the snow is dry, crisp, and fine, so that it falls through 
the network of the snow-shoe without leaving a feather's 
weight behind, while the feet are dry and warm ; but a 
thaw ! — Oh ! it is useless attempting to recapitulate the 



HUDSON'S BAY. 265 

miseries attending a thaw ; my next clay's experience 
will show what it is. 

Early on the following morning, I jumped from my 
bed on the floor of the hut, and proceeded to equip my- 
self for the march. The apartment in which I had 
passed the night presented a curious appearance. It 
measured about sixteen feet by twelve, and the greater 
part of this space was occupied by two beds, on which 
lay, in every imaginable position, the different members 
of the half-breed family to whom the mansion belonged. 
In the centre of the room stood a coarsely-constructed 
deal table, on which lay in confusion the remains of the 
preceding night's supper. On the right of this, a large, 
gaudily-painted Yankee clock graced the wall, and stared 
down upon the sleeping figures of the men. This, with 
a few rough wooden chairs and a small cupboard, com- 
prised all the furniture of the house. 

I soon singled out my man from among the sleeping 
figures on the floor, and bade him equip himself for the 
road — or rather for the march, for road we had none. 
In half an hour we were ready ; and having fortified 
ourselves with a cup of weak tea and a slice of bread, 
left the house and commenced our journey. 

My man Bezeau (a French Canadian) was dressed in 
a blue striped cotton shirt, of very coarse quality, and a 
pair of corduroys, strapped round his waist with a scar- 
let belt. Over these he wore a pair of blue cloth leg- 
gins, neatly bound with orange-colored ribbon. A Glen- 
garry bonnet covered his head ; and two pairs of flannel 
socks, under a pair of raw seal-skin shoes, protected his 
feet from the cold. His burden consisted of my carpet- 
bag, two days' provisions, and a blue cloth capote, which 
latter he carried over his shoulder, the weather being 



266 HUDSON'S BAY. 

warm. My dress consisted of a scarlet flannel shirt, and 
a pair of etoffe du pays trousers, which were fastened 
round my waist by a leathern belt, from which depended 
a small hunting-knife ; a foraging cap, and deer-skin moc- 
casins, completed my costume. My burden was a large 
green blanket, a greatcoat, and a tin teakettle. Our 
only arms of offence or defence were the little hunting- 
knife before mentioned, and a small axe for felling trees, 
should we wish to make a fire. We brought no guns, as 
there was little prospect of meeting any game on the 
road ; and it behooves one, when travelling on foot, to 
carry as little as possible. 

Thus we started from Esquimain Eiver. The best 
joke, however, of all was, that neither I nor my man 
had ever travelled that way before ! All we knew was, 
that we had to walk fifty miles through an uninhabited 
country ; and that then we should, or at least ought to, 
reach Isle Jeremie. There were two solitary houses, 
however, that we had to pass on the way ; the one an 
outpost of the Hudson's Bay Company, the other a saw- 
mill belonging to one of the lumber companies (or tim- 
ber traders) in Quebec. In fact, the best idea of our 
situation may be had from the following lines, which may 
be supposed to have been uttered by the establishment 
to which we were bound : — 

" Through the woods, through the woods, follow and find me, 
Search every hollow and dingle and dell; " 
To the right, left, or front, you may pass, or behind me, 
Unless you are careful and look for me well. 

The first part of our road lay along the shores of the 
St. Lawrence. 

The sun shone brightly, and the drifting ice in the gulf 
glittered in its rays as it flowed slowly out to sea ; but 



HCD SOX'S BAY. 267 

ere long the warm rays acted upon the snow, and ren- 
dered walking toilsome and fatiguing. After about an 
hour's walk along the shore, we arrived at the last hut 
we were likely to see that day. It was inhabited by an 
Indian and his family. Here we rested a few minutes, 
and I renewed my snow-shoe Hues, the old ones having 
broken by the way. 

Shortly after this, we passed the wreck of what had 
once been a fine ship. She lay crushed and dismasted 
among the rocks and lumps of ice w^hich lined the deso- 
late shore, her decks and the stumps of her masts drifted 
over with snow. Six short months before, she had 
bounded over the Atlantic wave in all the panoply of 
sail and rigging pertaining to a large three-master, in- 
closing in her sturdy hull full many a daring heart beat- 
ing high with sanguine hopes, and di'eaming of fame and 
glory, or perchance of home. But now, how great the 
change ! her sails and masts uprooted, and her helm — 
the seaman's confidence and safeguard — gone; her bed 
upon the rocks and pebbles of a dreary shore ; and her 
shattered hull hung round with icicles, and wrapped in the 
cold embraces of the wintry ocean. Few things, I think, 
can have a more inexpressibly melancholy appearance 
than a wreck upon a rocky and deserted shore in winter. 

The road now began to get extremely bad. The ice, 
over which we had to walk for miles, had been covered 
with about six inches of water and snow. A sharp frost 
durinof the niorht had covered this with a cake of ice 
sufficiently strong to bear us up until we got fairly upon it 
and were preparing to take another step, when down it 
went ; so that we had a sort of natural tread-mill to exer- 
cise ourselves upon all day, while every time we sank, as 
a matter of course, our snow-shoes were covered with a 



268 HUDSON'S BAY. 

mixture of water, snow, and broken ice, to extricate our 
feet from which almost pulled our legs out of the sockets. 

In this way we plodded slowly and painfully alorjg, till 
we came to a part of the shore where the ice had been 
entirely carried off, leaving the sandy beach uncovered 
for about t\vo miles. We gladly took advantage of this, 
and pulling off our snow-shoes, walked along among the 
shells and tangle of the sea-shore. At this agreeable 
part of our journey, while we walked lightly along, with 
our snow-shoes under our arms, I fell into a reverie upon 
the superior advantages of travelling in cold weather, 
and the delights of walking on sandy beaches in contrast 
with wet snow. These cogitations, however, were sud- 
denly interrupted by our arrival at the place where the 
ice had parted from the general mass ; so, with a deep 
sigh, we resumed our snow-shoes. My feet, from the 
friction of the lines, now began to feel very painful ; so, 
having walked about ten miles, I proposed taking a rest. 
To this my man, who seemed rather tired, gladly ac- 
ceded, and we proceeded to light a fire under the stem of 
a fallen tree which opportunely presented itself. 

Here we sat down comfortably together; and while 
our wet shoes and socks dried before the blazing fire, and 
our chafed toes wriggled joyously at being relieved from 
the painful harness of the snow-shoes, we swallowed a 
cup of congou with a degree of luxurious enjoyment, 
appreciable only by those who have walked themselves 
into a state of great exhaustion after a hurried breakfast. 

Greatly refreshed by the tea, we resumed our journey 
in better spirits, and even affected to believe we were 
taking an agreeable afternoon walk for the first mile or 
so. We soon, however, fell to zero again, as we gazed 
wistfully upon the long line of coast, stretching away to 



HUDSON'S BAY. 269 

the horizon. But there was no help for it ; on we 
splashed, sometimes through ice, water, and snow, and 
sometimes across the shingly beach, till the day was far 
spent, when I became so exhausted, that I could scarcely 
drag one foot after the other, and moved along almost 
mechanically. My man, too, strong as he was, exhibited 
symptoms of fatigue ; though, to do him justice, he was 
at least seven times more heavily laden than I. 

While we jogged slowly along in this enviable condi- 
tion, a lump of ice offered so tempting a seat, that we 
simultaneously proposed to sit down. This was very 
foolish. Resting without a fire is bad at all times ; and 
the exhausted condition we were then in made it far 
worse, as I soon found to my cost. Tired as I was be- 
fore, I could have walked a good deal further, but no 
sooner did I rise again to my feet, than an inexpressible 
weakness overcame me, and I felt that I could go no 
further. This my man soon perceived, and proposed 
making a fire and having a cup of tea, and then, if I felt 
better, we might proceed. This I agreed to ; so, enter- 
ing the woods, we dug a hole in the snow, and in half an 
hour had a fire blazing in it, that would have roasted an 
ox ! In a short time a panful of snow was converted into 
hot tea ; and as I sat sipping this, and watching the white 
smoke as it wreathed upwards from the pipe of my good- 
natured guide, I never felt rest more delightful. 

The tea refreshed us so much, that we resumed our 
journey, intending, if possible, to reach Port Neuf during 
the night ; and as we calculated that we had walked be- 
tween fifteen and eighteen miles, we hoped to reach it in 
a few hours. 

Away, then, we went, and plodded on till dark with- 
out reaching the post ; nevertheless, being determined to 



270 HUDSON'S BAY. 

travel as long as wc could, wc pushed on till near mid- 
iiiglit, when, being quite done uj), and seeing no sign of the 
estal)lislnnenl, we called a council of war, and sat down on 
a lump of ice to discuss our didiculties. I suggested, that 
if we had not already passed the post, in all probability 
wc should do so, if" we continued to travel any further in 
the dark. My companion admitted that he entertained 
precisely the same views on the subject ; and, further- 
more, that as we both seemed pretty tired, and there 
happened to be a nice little clump of willows, intermixed 
with pine trees, close at hand, his opinion was, that noth- 
ing better could be done than encamping for the night. 
I agreed to this — and the resolution being carried unani- 
mously, the council adjourned, and we proceeded to make 
our encampment. 

First of all, the snow was dug away from the foot of a 
large pine with our snow-shoes, which we used as spades ; 
and when a space of about ten feet long, by six broad, 
was cleared, we covered it with pine branches at one 
end, and made a roaring fire against the tree at the other. 
The snow rose all around to the height of about four feet, 
so that when our fire blazed cheerily, and our supper was 
spread out before it upon my green blanket, we looked 
very comfortable indeed, and what was of much more 
consequence, /t'/^ so. Supper consisted of a cup of tea, 
a loaf of bread, and a lump of salt butter. After hav- 
ing partaken largely of these delicacies, we thrcAv a fresh 
log upon the fire, and rolling ourselves in our blankets, 
were soon buried in repose. 

Next morning, on awaking, the first thing I became 
aware of was the fact, that it was raining, and heavily 
too, in the shape of a Scotch mist. I could scarcely be- 
lieve it, and rubbed my eyes to make sure, but there was 



HUDSON'S BAY. 271 

no mistake about it at all. The sky was gray, cold, and 
dismal, and the blanket quite wet ! " Well," thought I, 
as I fell back in a sort of mute despair, " this is certainly 
precious weather for snow-shoe travelling ! " I nud^-ed 
my sleeping companion, and the look of melancholy res- 
ignation which he put on, as he became gradually aware 
of the state of matters, convinced me, that bad as yester- 
day had been, to-day would be far worse. 

When I got upon my legs, I found that every joint in 
my body was stifFer than the rustiest hinge ever heard 
of in the annals of doors ! and my feet as tender as a 
chicken's, with huge blisters all over them. Bezeau, 
however, though a little stiff, was otherwise quite well, 
being well inured to hardships of every description. 

It is needless to recount the miseries of the five miles' 
walk that we had to make before arriving at Port Neuf, 
over ground that was literally next to impassable. About 
nine o'clock we reached the house, and remained there 
for the rest of the day. Here, for three days, we were 
hospitably entertained by the Canadian family inhabiting 
the place ; during this time it rained and thawed so 
heavily, that we could not venture to resume our journey. 
On the IGth, the weather became colder, and Bezeau 
announced his opinion that we might venture to proceed. 
Glad to be once more on the move — for fears of being 
arrested altogether, by the setting in of spring, had be- 
gun to beset me — I once more put on my snow-shoes ; 
and, bidding adieu to the hospitable inmates of Port 
Neuf, we again wended our weary way along the coast. 
Alas! our misfortunes had not yet ceased. The snow 
was much softer than we anticipated, and the blisters on 
my feet, which had nearly healed during the time we 
stayed at Port Neuf, were now torn open afresh. After a 



272 HUDSON'S BAY. 

painful and laborious walk of eight or nine miles, we 
arrived at a small house, where a few enterprising men 
lived, who had penetrated thus far down the gulf to erect 
a saw-mill. 

Here we found, to our infinite joy, a small flat-bottomed 
boat, capable of carrying two or three men ; so, without 
delay, we launched it, and putting our snow-shoes and 
provisions into it, my man and I jumped in, and pulled 
away down the gulf, intending to finish the twenty miles 
that still remained of our journey by water. We were 
obliged to pull a long way out to sea, to avoid the ice 
which lined the shores, and our course lay a good deal 
among drifting masses. 

Half an hour after we embarked, a snow-storm came 
on, but still we pulled along, preferring anything to re- 
suming the snow-shoes. 

After a few hours' rowing, we rested on our oars, and 
refreshed ourselves with a slice of bread and a glass of 
rum, which latter, having forgotten to bring water with 
us, we were obliged to drink pure. We certainly cut a 
strange figure, while thus lunching in pur little boat — sur- 
rounded by ice, and looking hazy through the thickly fall- 
ing snow, which prevented us from seeing very far ahead, 
and made the mountains on shore look quite spectral. 

For about five miles we pulled along in a straight line, 
after which the ice trended outwards, and finally brought 
us to a stand-still, by running straight out to sea. This 
was an interruption we were not at all prepared for, and 
we felt rather undecided how to proceed. After a little 
confabulation, we determined to pull out, and see if the 
ice did not again turn in the proper direction ; but after 
pulling straight out for a quarter of a mile, we perceived, 
or imagined we perceived, to our horror, that the ice, 



HUDSON'S BAY. 273 

instead' of being stationary, as we supposed it to be, was 
floating slowly out to sea with the wind, and carrying us 
along with it. No time was to be lost; so, wheeling 
about, we rowed with all our strength for the shore ; and 
after a pretty stiff pull gained the solid ice. Here we 
hauled the flat up out of the water with great difficulty, 
and once more put on our snow-shoes. 

Our road still lay along shore, and, as the weather was 
getting colder, we proceeded along much more easily than 
heretofore. In an hour or two the snow ceased to fall, 
and showed us that the ice was not drifting, but that it 
ran so far out to sea, that it would have proved a bar to 
our further progress by water at any rate. 

The last ten miles of our journey now lay before us ; 
and we sat down, before starting, to have another bite of 
bread and a pull at the rum bottle ; after which, we 
trudged along in silence. The peculiar compression of 
my guide's lips, and the length of step that he now 
adopted, showed me that he had made up his mind to 
get through the last part of the journey without stopping.; 
so, tightening my belt, and bending my head forward, 
I plodded on, solacing myself as we advanced, by hum- 
ming, " Follow, follow, over mountain, — follow, follow, 
over sea ! " &c. 

About four or five o'clock in the afternoon, upon 
rounding a point, we were a little excited by perceiving 
evident signs of the axe having been at work in the for- 
est, — and a little further on discovered, to our inexpres- 
sible joy, a small piece of ground inclosed as a garden. 
This led us to suppose that the post could not be far off, 
so we pushed forward rapidly; and upon gaining the 
summit of a small eminence, beheld, with delight, the 

post of Isle Jeremie. 
18 



274 HUDSOli'S BAY. 

This establishment, like most of tlie others on the St. 
Lawrence, is merely a collection of scattered buildings, 
most of which are storehouses and stables. It stands in 
a hollow of the mountains, and close to a large bay, 
where sundry small boats and a sloop lay quietly at an- 
chor. Upon a little hillock close to the principal house, 
is a Roman Catholic chapel ; and behind it, stretches 
away the broad St. Lawrence, the south shore of which 
is indistinctly seen on the horizon. We had not much 
inclination, however, to admire the scenery just then ; so, 
hastening down the hill, my man rushed into the men's 
house, where in five minutes he was busily engaged 
eating bread and pork, and recounting his adventures to 
a circle of admiring friends ; while I warmed myself 
beside a comfortable fire in the hall, and chatted with the 
gentleman in charge of the establishment. 

At Isle Jeremie I remained about six weeks ; or 
rather, I should say, belonged to the establishment for 
that time ; as, during a great part of it, I was absent 
from the post. Mr. Coral, soon after my arrival, went 
to visit the Company's posts lower down the St. Law- 
rence, leaving me in charge of Isle Jeremie ; and as I 
had little or nothing to do in the way of business (our 
Indians not having arrived from the interior), most of 
my time was spent in reading and shooting. 

It was here I took my first lessons in navigation — I 
mean in a practical way ; as for the scientific part of the 
business, that was deferred to a more favorable oppor- 
tunity — and, truly, the lessons were rather rough. The 
way of it was this : Our flour at Isle Jeremie had run 
out. Indians were arriving every day calling loudly for 
flour, and more were expected ; so Mr. Coral told me, 
one fine morning, to get ready to go to Tadousac in the 



HUDSON'S BAY. 275 

boat, for a load of flour. This I prepared to do at once, 
arid started after breakfast in a large boat, manned by 
two men. The wkid was fair, and I fired a couple of 
shots with my fowling-piece, as we cleared the harbor, in 
answer to an equal number of salutes from two iron can- 
nons that stood in front of the house. By-the-by, one of 
these guns had a melancholy interest attached to it a 
few montlis after this. While firing a salute of fourteen 
rounds in honor of the arrival of a Roman Catholic 
bishop, one of them exploded while the man who acted 
as gunner was employed in ramming home the cartridge, 
and blew him about twenty yards dbwn the bank. The 
unfortunate man expired in a few hours. Poor fellow !, 
he was a fine little Canadian, and had sailed with me^ 
not many weeks before, in a voyage up the St. Law- 
rence. But to return. Our voyage, during the first few 
days, was prosperous enough, and I amused myself in 
shooting the gulls which were foolish enough to come within 
range of my gun, and in recognizing the various places 
along shore where I had rested and slept on the memo- 
rable occasion of my snow-shoe trip. 

But when did the St. Lawrence prove friendly for an 
entire voyage ? Certainly not when I had the pleasure 
of ploughing its rascally waters ! The remainder of our 
voyage was a succession of squalls, calms, contrary winds, 
sticking on shoals for hours, and being detained on shore, 
with an accompaniment of pitching, tossing, oscillation 
and botheration, that bafiies all description. However, 
time brings the greatest miseries to an end ; and, in the 
process of time, we arrived at Tadousac — loaded our 
boat deeply with flour — shook hands with our friends — 
related our adventures — bade them adieu — and again 
found ourselves scudding down the St. Lawrence, with a 
snoring breeze on our quarter. 



276 HUDSON'S BAY. 

Now this was truly a most delectable state of things, 
when contrasted with our wretched trip up ; so we wrap- 
ped our blankets round us, (for it was very cold,) and 
felicitated ourselves considerably on such good fortune. 
It was rather premature, however, as, not long after, we 
had a very narrow escape from being swamped. The 
wind, as I said before, was pretty strong, and it con- 
tinued so the whole way ; so that on the evening of the 
second day we came within sight of Isle Jeremie, while 
running before a stiff breeze, through the green waves 
which were covered^ with foam. Our boat had a " droop- 
ing nose," and was extremely partial to what the men 
termed " drinking ; " in other words, it shipped a good 
deal of water over the bows. Now it happened, that 
while we were straining our eyes ahead, to catch a sight 
of our haven, an insidious squall was creeping fast down 
behind us. The first intimation we had of its presence 
was a loud and ominous hiss, which made us turn our 
heads round rather smartly ; but it was too late — for 
with a howl, that appeared to be quite vicious, the wind 
burst upon our sails, and buried the boat in the water, 
which rushed in a cataract over the bows, and nearly 
filled us in a moment, although the steersman threw her 
into the wind immediately. The sheets were instantly 
let go, and one of the men who happened to be a sailor 
jumped up, and, seizing an axe, began to cut down the 
mainmast, at the same time exclaiming to the steersman, 
" You've done for us, now. Cooper ! " He was mistaken, 
however, for the sails were taken in just in time to save 
us ; and, while the boat lay tumbling in the sea, we all 
began to bale, with anything we could lay hands on, as 
fast as we could. In a few minutes the boat was ligh- 
tened enough to allow of our hoisting the foresail ; and 



HUDSON'S BAY. 277 

about half an hour afterwards Ave were safely anchored 
in the harbor. 

This happened w^ithin about three or four hundred 
yards of the shore ; yet the best swimmer in the world 
would have been drowned ere he reached it, as the water 
was so bitterly cold, that when I was baling for my life, 
and, consequently, in pretty violent exercise, my hands 
became quite benumbed and almost powerless. 

Shortly after this, I was again sent up to Tadousac, in 
charge of a small batteau, of about ten or fifteen tons, 
with a number of shipwrecked seamen on board. These 
unfortunate men had been cast on shore about the com- 
mencement of winter, on an uninhabited part of the 
coast, and had remained without provisions or fire for a 
long time, till they were discovered by a gentleman of 
the Hudson's Bay Company, and conveyed over the 
snow in sleighs to the nearest establishment, which hap- 
pened to be Isle Jeremie. Here they remained all win- 
ter, in a most dreadfully mutilated condition, some of 
them having been desperately frozen. One of the poor 
fellows, a negro, had one of his feet frozen off at the 
ankle, and had lost all the toes and the heel of the other, 
the bone being laid bare for about an inch and a half. 
Mr. Coral, the gentleman who had saved them, did all 
in his power to relieve their distress — amputating their 
frozen limbs, and dressing their wounds, while they were- 
provided with food and warm clothing. I am sorry to- 
say, however, that these men, who would have perishecl 
had it not been for Mr. Coral's care of them, were the- 
first, upon arriving at Quebec the following spring, to 
open their mouths in violent reproach and bitter in- 
vective against him ; forgetting that, while their only 
charge against him was a little severity in refusing theni; 



278 HUDSON'S BAY. 

a few trifling and unnecessary luxuries, lie had saved 
them from a painful and lingering death. 

In a couple of days we arrived at Tadousac,the second 
time, to the no small astonishment of my brother scrib- 
bler residing there. After reloading our craft, we directed 
our course once more down the gulf. 

This time the wind was also favorable, but, unfortu- 
nately, a little too strong ; so we were obhged, in the 
evening, to come to an anchor in Esquimain River. This 
river has good anchorage close to the bank, but is very 
deep in the lead, or current ; this, however, we did not 
know at the time ; and seeing a small schooner close to 
shore, we rounded to a few fathoms outside of her, and 
let go our anchor. Whirr ! went the chain — ten ! twelve ! 
sixteen ! till at last forty fathoms ran out, and only a 
little bit remained on board, and still we had no bot- 
tom. After attaching our spare cable to the other one, 
the anchor at last grounded. This, however, was a dan- 
gerous situation to remain in, as, if the wind blew strong, 
we would have to run out to sea, and so much cable 
would take a long time to get in ; so I ordered my two 
men, in a very pompous, despotic way, to heave up the 
anchor again ; but not a bit would it budge. We all 
heaved at the windlass, still the obstinate anchor held 
fast — again w^e gave another heave, and smashed both 
the handspikes. 

In this dilemma, I begged assistance from the neigh- 
'boring schooner, and they kindly sent all their men on 
board with new handspikes ; but our refractory anchor 
would not let go, and at last it was conjectured that it 
had got foul of a rock, and that it was not in the power 
of mortal man to move it. Under these pleasant cir- 
cumstances, we went to bed, in hopes that the falling 



HUDSON'S BAY. 279 

tide might swing us clear before morning. This turned 
out just as we expected — or, rather, a little better — for 
next morning, when I went on deck, I found that we 
were drifting quietly down the gulf, stern foremost, all 
the sails sruiglj tied up, and the long cable dragging at 
the bows ! Towards evening we arrived at Jeremie ; and 
I gladly resigned command of the vessel to mj first 
lieutenant. 

One afternoon, near the middle of April, I sat sun- 
ning myself in the verandah, before the door of the 
principal house at Isle Jeremie ; and watched the fields 
of ice, as they floated down the Gulf of St. Lawrence, 
occasionally disappearing behind the body of a large pig, 
which stood upon a hillock close in front of me, and 
then reappearing again as the current swept them slowly 
past the intervening obstacle. 

Mft Coral, with whom I had been leading a very 
quiet, harmless sort of life for a couple of weeks past, 
leant against a wooden post, gazing wistfully out to sea. 
Suddenly he turned towards me, and with great gravity 
told me that as there was nothing particular for me to 
do at the establishment, he meant to send me down to 
Seven Islands, to relieve the gentleman at th^t post of 
his charge ; adding, that as he wished me to set off the 
following morning at an early hour, I had better pack 
up a few things to-night. 

Now, this order may not seem, at the first glance, a 
very dreadful one ; but taking into consideration that 
Seven Islands is one hundred and twenty miles below 
the post at which I then resided, it did appear as if one 
would wish to think about it a little before starting. Not 
having time to think about it, however, I merely, in a 
sort of bantering desperation, signified my readiness to 



280 HUDSON'S BAY. 

undertake a voyage to any part of the 'undiscovered 
world, at any mpment he (Mr. Coral) might think proper, 
and then vanished, to prepare myself for the voyage. 

It M^as optional with me whether I should walk 
through one hundred and twenty miles of primeval and 
most impassable forest, or paddle over an equal number 
of miles of water. Preferring the latter, as being at 
once the less disagreeable and more expeditious method, 
I accordingly, on the following morning, embarked in a 
small Indian canoe, similar to the one in which I had 
formerly travelled with two Indians, in the Northwest. 
My companions were, a Canadian, who acted as steers- 
man — a genuine, Patlander, who ostensibly acted as bows- 
man, but in reality was more useful in the way of ballast 
— and a young Newfoundland dog, which I had got as a 
present from Mr. Stone, while at Tadousac. 

When we were all in our allotted places, the canoe 
was quite full ; and we started from Isle Jeremie in good 
spirits, with the broad, sunlike face of Mike Lynch loom- 
ing over the bows of the canoe, and the black ^nuzzle of 
Humbug (the dog) resting on its gunwale. 

It is needless to describe the voyage minutely. We 
had the usual amount of bad and good weather, and ran 
the risk several times of upsetting ; we had, also, several 
breakfasts, dinners, suppers, and beds in the forest ; and 
on the afternoon of the third day we arrived at Good- 
bout, an establishment nearly half-way between the post 
I had left and the one to which I was bound. Here we 
stayed all night, proposing to start again on the morrow. 
But the weather was so stormy as to prevent us for a 
couple of days trusting ourselves out in a frail bark 
canoe. 

Early on the third morning, however, I took ray place 



HUDSON'S BAY. 281 

as steersman in the stern of our craft, (my former guide 
being obliged to leave me here,) and my man Mike 
squeezed his unwieldy person into the bow. In the 
middle lay our provisions and baggage, over which the 
black muzzle of Humbug peered anxiously out upon the 
ocean. In this trim we paddled from the beach, amid 
a shower of advice to keep close to shore, in case the 
hig-Jish — alias, the whales — might take a fancy to up- 
set us. 

After a long paddle of five or six hours we arrived at 
Pointe des Monts, where rough weather obliged us to 
put ashore. Here I remained all night, and slept in the 
light-house, — a cyhndrical building of moderate height, 
which stands on a rock off Pointe des Monts, and serves 
to warn sailors off the numerous shoals with which this 
part of the gulf is filled. In the morning we fortunately 
found an Indian with his boat, who was just starting for 
Seven Islands ; and after a little higgling, at Avhich Mike 
proved himself quite an adept, he agreed to give us a 
lift for a few pounds of tobacco. Away, then, we went, 

with 

"A wet sheet and a flowing sea, 
And a wind that follow' d fast," 

ploughing through the water in beautiful style. 

The interior of our boat presented a truly ludicrous, 
and rather filthy scene. The Indian, who was a fine- 
looking man of about thirty, had brought his whole 
family — sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, wife, and 
mother — and a more heterogeneous mass of dirty, dark- 
skinned humanity, I never before had the ill-luck to 
travel with. The mother of the flock was the most ex- 
traordinary being that I ever beheld. She must have 
been very near a hundred years old, as black and wrink- 



282 HUDSON'S BAY. 

led as a singed hide, yet active and playful as a kitten. 
She was a very bad sailor, however, and dived down into 
the bottom of the boat the moment a puff of wind arose. 
Indians have a most extraordinary knack of diminishing 
their bulk, which is very convenient sometimes. Upon 
this occasion it was amusing to watch them settling grad- 
ually down, upon the slightest appearance of wind, until 
you might almost believe they had squeezed themselves 
quite through the bottom of the boat, and left only a few 
dirty blankets to tell the tale. Truly, one rarely meets 
with such a compact mass of human ballast. If, how- 
ever, a slight lull occurred, or the sun peeped out from 
behind a cloud, there was immediately a perceptible in- 
crease in the bulk of the mass, and gradually a few heads 
appeared, then a leg, and soon a few arms ; till at last 
the whole batch were up, laughing talking, singing, eat- 
ing, and chattering, in a most uproarious state of con- 
fusion ! 

After the usual amount of storms, calms, and contrary 
winds, we arrived in safety at the post of Seven Islands, 
where I threw my worthy friend Mr. Anderson into a 
state of considerable surprise and agitation, by informing 
him that in the individual before him he beheld his august 
successor ! 

The establishment of Seven Islands is anything but an 
inviting place, although pretty enough on a fine day ; and 
the general appearance of the surrounding scenery is 
■ lonely, wild, and desolate. The houses are built on a low 
sandy beach, at the bottom of the large bay of Seven 
Islands. The trees around are thinly scattered and very 
small. In the background, rugged hills stretch as far 
as the eye can see ; and in front, seven lofty islands, from 
which the bay and post derive their name, obstruct the 



HUDSON'S BAY. 283 

view, affording only a partial glimpse of the open sea 
beyond. No human habitations exist within seventy 
miles of the place. Being out of the line of sailing, no 
vessels ever visit it, except when driven to the bay for 
shelter ; and the bay is so large, that many vessels come 
in and go out again without having been observed. Alto- 
gether, I found it a lonely and desolate place, during a 
residence of nearly four months. 

An extensive salmon fishery is carried on at a large 
river called the Moisie, about eighteen miles below the 
post, where the Company sometimes catch and salt up- 
wards of eighty and ninety tierces of fish. 

During my sojourn there, I made one or two excur- 
sions to the fishery, a description of which may perhaps 
prove interesting to those versed in the more practical 
branches of ichthyology. 

It was a lovely morning in June when Mr. Anderson 
and I set out from Seven Islands on foot, with our coats 
(for the weather was warm) slung across our backs, and 
walked rapidly along the beach in the direction of the 
river Moisie. The weather was very calm, and the mos- 
quitos, consequently, rather annoying ; but, as our pro- 
gressive motion disconcerted their operations a Httle, we 
did not mind them much. The beach all the way was 
composed of fine hard sand, so that we found the walk 
very agreeable. A few loons dived about in the sea, and 
we passed two or three flocks of black ducks, known in 
some parts of the country by the name of " old wives ; " 
but, having brought no gun with us, the old ladies were 
permitted to proceed on their way unmolested. The land 
all along presented the same uniform line of forest, with 
the yellow sand of the beach glittering at its edge ; and, 
as we cleared the islands, the boundless ocean opened 
upon our view. 



284 HUDSON'S BAY. 

In about four hours or so, we arrived at the mouth of 
the Moisie, where the first fislierj is established. Here 
we found tliat our men had caught and salted a good 
many salmon, some of which had just come from the 
nets, and lay on the grass, plump and glittering, in their 
pristine freshness. They looked very tempting, and we 
had one put in the kettle immediately, which, when we 
set to work at him soon afterwards, certainly did not belie 
his looks. The salmon had only commenced to ascend 
the river that day, and were being taken by fifties at a 
haul in the nets. The fishery was attended by three 
men, who kept seven or eight nets constantly in the 
water, which gave them enough of employment — two of 
them attending to the nets, while the third split, salted, 
and packed the fish in large vats. Here we spent the 
night, and slept in a small house about ten feet long 
by eight broad, built for the accommodation of the fish- 
ermen. 

Next morning we embarked in a boat belonging to a 
trapper, and went up the river with a fair wind, to visit 
the fisheries higher up. On the way we passed a seal- 
net belonging to the owner of the boat, and at our re- 
quest he visited it, and found seven or eight fine seals in 
it ; they were all dead, and full of water. Seal-nets are 
made the same as salmon-nets, excej^t that the mesh is 
larger, the seal having a pretty good-sized cranium ef 
his own. After a good deal of unravelling and pulling, 
we got them all out of the net, and proceeded onward 
with our cargo. 

The scenery on the river Moisie is pleasing : .the banks 
are moderately high, and covered to the foot with the 
richest and most variegated verdure ; while here and 
there, upon rounding some of the curvatures of the stream, 



HUDSON'S BAY. 285 

long vistas of the river may be seen, imbedded in luxu- 
riant foliage. Thirteen or fourteen miles up the river is 
the Frog Creek fishery, at which we arrived late in the 
afternoon, and found that the man superintending it had 
taken a good many fish, and expected more. He visited 
his nets while we were there, but returned with only a 
few salmon. Some of them were badly cut up by the 
seals, which are the most formidable enemies of fishermen, 
as they eat and destroy many salmon, besides .breaking 
the nets. We were detained here by rain all night, and 
slept in the small fishing- house. 

Travelling makes people acquainted with strange beds 
as well as strange bedfellows ; but I question if many 
people can boast of having slept on a bed of nets. This 
we were obliged to do here, having brought no blankets 
with us, as we expected to have returned to the Point 
fishery in the evening. The bedstead was a long low 
platform, in one end of the little cabin, and was big 
enough to let four people sleep in it — two of us lying 
abreast at one end, and two more at the other end, feet 
to feet. A large salmon-net formed a pretty good mat- 
tress ; another, spread out on top of us, served as a 
blanket; and a couple of trout-nets were excellent as 
pillows. From this piscatorial couch we arose early on 
the following morning, and breakfasted on a splendid 
fresh salmon ; after which we resumed our journey. In 
a couple of hours we arrived at the Rapid fishery, where 
I found that my old friend Mike, the Irishman, had 
caught a great number of salmon. He was very bitter, 
however, in his remarks upon the seals, which it seems 
had made great havoc among his nets during the last two 
days. A black bear, too, was in the habit of visiting his 
station every morning, and, sitting on a rock not fiir off", 



286 HUDSON'S BAY. 

watched his motions with great apparent interest while 
he took the fish out of the nets. Mike, poor man, regretted 
very much that he had no gun, as he might perhaps shoot 
" the baste." Bears are very destructive at times to the 
saUed salmon, paying visits during the night to the vats, 
and carrying off and tearing to pieces far more than they 
are capable of devourins;. 

While inspecting the nets here, we witnessed an inter- 
esting seal-hunt. Two Indians, in separate canoes, were 
floating quietly in a small eddy, with their guns cocked, 
ready to fire at the first unfortunate seal that should show 
his head on the surface of the stream. They had not 
waited long when one popped up his head, and instantly 
got a shot, which evidently hurt him, as he splashed a 
little and then dived. In a minute the Indian reloaded 
his gun, and paddled out into the stream, in order to have 
another shot the moment the seal rose for air ; this he 
did in a short time, when another shot was fired, which 
turned him over apparently lifeless. The Indian then laid 
down his gun, and seizing his paddle, made towards the 
spot where the seal lay. He had scarcely approached a 
few yards, however, when it recovered a little, and dived, 
much to the Indian's chagrin, who had approached too 
near the head of a small rapid, and went down, stern fore- 
most, just at the moment his friend the seal did the same. 
On arriving at the bottom, the animal, after one or two 
kicks, expired, and the Indian at last secured his prize. 
After this, we embarked again in our boat ; and the wind 
for once determined to be accommodating, as it shifted in 
our favor, almost at the same time that we turned to re- 
trace our way. In a few hours we arrived at the fishery 
near the mouth of the river, where we found supper just 
ready. 



HUDSON'S BAY. . 287 

After supper, which we had about eight o'clock, the 
night looked so fine, and the mosquitos in the little 
smoky house were so troublesome, that we determined to 
walk up to the post ; so, ordering one of the men to fol- 
low us, away we went along the beach. The night was 
fine, though dark, and we trudged rapidly along. It was 
very tiresome work, however, as, the tide being full, we 
were obliged to walk upon the soft sand. Everything 
along the beach looked huge and mystical in the un- 
certain light; and this, accompanied with the solemn 
boom of the waves as they fell at long intervals upon the 
shore, made the scene quite romantic. After five hours' 
sharp walking, with pocket-handkerchiefs tied round our 
heads to guard us from the attacks of mosquitos, we 
arrived at Seven Islands between one and two in the 
morning. 

Not long after this, a boat arrived with orders for my 
companion, Mr. Anderson, to pack up his worldly goods, 
and set sail for Tadousac. The same day he completely 
gutted my dwelling-house ; and, after packing up nearly 
every movable it contained, bade me adieu and set sail. 
In a few minutes the boat vanished behind a point of land, 
and I turned to look at my now deserted home. 

The situation in which I found myself was a novel, 
and, to say truth, not a very agreeable one. A short way 
off stood a man watching contemplatively the point round 
which the boat had just disappeared ; and this man was 
my only companion in the world ! — my Friday, in fact. 
Not another human being lived within sixty miles of our 
solitary habitation, with the exception of the few men at 
the distant fishery. In front of us, the mighty Gulf of 
St. Lawrence stretched out to the horizon, its swelling 
bosom unbroken, save by the dipping of a sea-gull or 



288 ♦ HUDSON'S BAY. 

the fin of a whale. Behind lay the dense forest stretch- 
ing back, without a break in its primeval wildness, 
across the whole " continent of America to the Pacific 
Ocean ; while above and below lay the rugged mountains 
that form the shores of the gulf. As I walked up to the 
house, and wandered like a ghost throngh its empty 
rooms, I felt inexpressibly melancholy, and began to have 
unpleasant anticipations of spending the winter on this 
lonely spot. 

Just as this thought occurred to me, my dog Humbug 
bounded into the room, and, looking with a comical ex- 
pression up in my face for a moment, went bounding off 
again. This incident induced me to take a more philo- 
sophical view of affairs. I began to gaze round upon 
my domain, and whisper to myself that I was " monarch 
of all I surveyed." All the mighty trees in the wood 
were mine — if I chose to cut them down ; all the fish in 
the sea were mine — if I could only catch them ; and the 
palace of Seven Islands was also mine. The regal feel- 
ing inspired by the consideration of these things induced 
me to call in a very kingly tone of voice for my man 
(he was a French Canadian), who politely answered, 
" Oui, Monsieur." " Dinner ! " said I, falling back in 
my throne, and contemplating through the palace win- 
dow, our vast dominions ! 

On the following day a small party of Indians arrived, 
and the bustle of trading their furs, and asking questions 
about their expectations of a good winter hunt, tended to 
disperse those unpleasant feelings of loneliness that at 
first assailed me. 

One of these poor Indians had died while travelling, 
and his relatives brought the body to be interred in our 
little burying-ground. The poor creatures came in a 



HUDSON'S BAY. 289 

very melancholy mood to ask m-e for a few planks to make 
a coffin for him. They soon constructed a rough wooden 
box, in which the corpse was placed, and then buried. 
No ceremony attended the interment of this poor savage ; 
no prayer was uttered over the grave ; and the only 
mark that the survivors left upon the place was a small 
wooden cross, which those Indians who have been visited 
by Roman CathoHc priests are in the habit of erecting 
over their departed relatives. 

The almost total absence of religion of any kind 
among these unhappy natives is truly melancholy. The 
very name of our blessed Saviour is almost unknown by 
the hundreds of Indians who inhabit the vast forests of 
North America. It is strange that, while so many mis- 
sionaries have been sent to the southern parts of the 
earth, so few should have been sent to the northward. 
There are not, I believe, more than a dozen or so of 
Protestant clergymen over the whole wide northern con- 
tinent. 

For at least a century these North American Indians 
have hunted for the white men, and poured annually into 
Britain a copious streatn of wealth. Surely it is the 
duty of Christian Britain, in return, to send out faithful 
servants of God to preach the gospel of our Lord 
throughout their land. 

The Indians, after spending a couple of days at the 
establishment — during which time they sold me a great 
many furs — set out again to return to their distant wig- 
wams. It is strange to contemplate the precision and 
certainty with which these men travel towards any part 
of the vast wilderness, even where their route lies across 
numerous intricate and serpentine rivers. But the 
strangest thing of all is, the savage's certainty of finding 

19 



290 HUDSON'S BAY. 

his way in winter through the trackless forest, to a place 
where perhaps, he never was before, and of which he has 
had only a slight description. They have no compasses, 
but the means by M'hich they discover the cardinal points 
is curious. If an Indian happens to become confused 
with regard to this, he lays down his burden, and, taking 
his axe, cuts -through the bark of a tree ; from the thick- 
ness or thinness of which he can tell the north point at 
once, the bark being thicker on that side. 

For a couple of weeks after this, I remained at the 
post with my solitary man, endeavoring by all the means 
in my power, to dispel ennui ; but it was a hard task. 
Sometimes I shouldered my gun and ranged about the 
forest in search of game, and occasionally took a swim 
in the sea. I was ignorant at the time, however, that 
there were sharks in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, else I 
should have been more cautious. The Indians after- 
wards told me that they were often seen, and several 
gentlemen who had lived long on the coast corroborated 
their testimony. Several times Indians have left the 
shores of the gulf in their canoes, to go hunting, and 
have never been heard of again, although the weather 
at the time was calm ; so that it was generally believed 
tliat sharks had upset the canoes and devoured the men. 
An occurrence that afterwards happened to an Indian 
renders this supposition highly probable. This man had 
been travelling along the shores of the gulf with his 
family, a wife and several children, in a small canoe. 
Towards evening, as he was crossing a large bay, a 
shark rose near his canoe, and after reconnoitring a 
short time, swam towards it, and endeavored to upset it. 
The size of the canoe, however, rendered this im possi- 
ble ; so the ferocious monster actually began to break it 



HUDSON'S BAY. 291 

to pieces, by rushing forcibly against it. Tlie Indian 
fired at the shark when he first saw it, but without effect; 
and, not having time to reload, he seized his paddle and 
made for the shore. The canoe, however, from the re- 
peated attacks of the fish, soon became leaky, and it was 
evident that in a few minutes more the whole party would 
be at the mercy of the infuriated monster.^ In this ex- 
tremity the Indian took up his youngest child, an infant 
of a few months old, and dropped it overboard; and 
while the shark was devouring it, the rest of the party 
gained the shore. 

I sat one morning ruminating on the pleasures of soli- 
tude in the palace of Seven Islands, and gazed throughi 
the window at my solitary man, who was just leaving an> 
old boat he had been repairing, for the purpose of pre- 
paring dinner. The wide ocean, which rolled its waves 
almost to the door of the house, was calm and unruffled, 
and the yellow beach shone again in the sun's rays, while 
Humbug lay stretched out at full length before the door. 
After contemplating this scene for some time, I rose, and 
was just turning away from the window, when I descried 
a man, accompanied by a boy, walking along the sea- 
shore towards the house. This unusual sight created in 
me almost as strong, though not so unpleasant a sensa- 
tion as was awakened in the bosom of Robinson Crusoe 
when he discovered the foot-print in the sand. Hastily 
putting on my cap, I ran out to meet him, and found, to 
my joy that he was a trapper of my acquaintance ; and, 
what added immensely to the novelty of the thing, he 
was also a white man and a gentleman ! He had entered 
one of the fur companies on the coast at an early age, 
and a few years afterwards, fell in love with an Indian 
girl, whom he married; and, ultimately, he became a 



292 HUDSON'S BAY. 

trapper. He was a fine good-natured man, and had been 
well educated ; and to hear philosophical discourse pro- 
ceeding from the lips of one who was, in outward ap- 
pearance, a regular Indian, was very strange indeed. 
He was dressed in the usual capote, leggins, and mocca- 
sins of a hunter. 

"What ha\ie you got for dinner?" was his first ques- 
tion, after shaking hands with me. 

" Pork and pancakes," said I. 

" Oh," said the trapper, " the first salt, and the latter 
made of flour and water ? " 

" Just so ; and with the exception of some bread, and 
a few ground pease in lieu of coffee, this has been my 
diet for three weeks back." 

" You might have done better," said the trapper, point- 
ing towards a blue line in the sea ; " look, there are fish 
enough, if you only took tlie trouble to catch them." 

As he said this, I advanced to the edge of the water, 
and there to my astonishment discovered, that what I 
had taken for sea-weed, was a shoal of kippliug, so dense 
that they seemed scarcely able to move. 

Upon beholding this, I recollected having seen a couple 
of old hand-nets in some of the stores, which we imme- 
diately sent the trapper's son (a youth of twelve) to 
fetch. In a few minutes he returned with them ; so, 
tucking up our trousers, we both went into the water and 
scooped the fish out by dozens. It required great quick- 
ness, however, as they shot into deep water like light- 
ning, and sometimes made us run in so deep, that we wet 
ourselves considerably. Indeed, the sport became so ex- 
citing at last, that we gave over attempting to keep our 
clothes dry ; and in an hour we returned home, laden 
with kippling, and wet to the skin. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 293 

The fish, which measured from four to five inches long, 
were really excellent, and lent an additional relish to the 
pork, pancakes, and pease coffee ! 

I prevailed upon the trapper to remain with me during 
the following week ; and a very pleasant time we had 
of it, paddUng about in a canoe, or walking through the 
woods, while my companion told me numerous anecdotes, 
with which his memory was stored. Some of these were 
grave and some comical ; especially one, in which he de- 
scribed a bear-hunt that he and his son had on the coast 
of Labrador. 

He had been out on a shooting expedition, and was 
returning home in his canoe, when, on turning a head- 
land, he'discovered a black bear walking leisurely along 
the beach. Now, the place where he discovered him was 
a very wild, rugged spot. At the bottom of the bay rose 
a high precipice, so that Bruin could not escape that 
way ; along the beach, in the direction in which he had 
been walking, a cape, which the rising tide now washed, 
prevented his retreating ; so that the only chance for the 
brute to escape was, by running past the trapper, within 
a few yards of him. In this dilemma, the bear bethought 
himself of trying the precipice ; so, collecting himself, he 
made a bolt for it, and actually managed to scramble up 
thirty or forty feet, when bang went the boy's gun ; but 
the shot missed, and it appeared as if the beast would 
actually get away, when the trapper took a deliberate 
aim and fired. The eff'ect of the shot was so comical, 
that the two hunters could scarcely reload their guns for 
laughing. Bruin, upon receiving the shot, covered his 
head with his fore-paws, and curling himself up like a 
ball, came thundering down the precipice head over 
heels, raising clouds of dust, and hurling showers of 

19 * 



294 HUDSON'S BAY. 

stones down in his descent, till lie actually rolled at the 
trapper's feet ; and then, getting slowly up, he looked at 
him with such a bewildered expression, that the man 
could scarcely refrain from laughter, even while in the 
act of blowing the beast's brains out. 

This man had also a narrow escape of having a boxing 
match with a moose-deer or elk. The moose has a strange 
method of fighting with its forefeet ; getting up on its 
hind-legs, and boxing, as it were, with great energy and 
deadly force. The trapper, upon the occasion referred 
to, was travelling with an Indian, who having discovered 
the track of a moose in the snow, set off in chase of it, 
•while the trapper pursued his way with the Indian's pack 
of furs and provisions on his shoulders. He had not gone 
far when he heard a shot, and the next moment a moose- 
deer, as large as a horse, sprang through the bushes and 
stood in front of him. The animal came so suddenly on 
the trapper, that it could not turn ; so, rising up with a 
savage look, it prepared to strike him, when another shot 
was fired from among the bushes by the Indian, and the 
moose, springing nearly its own height into the air fell 
dead upon the snow. 

About a week after his arrival, the trapper departed, 
and left me again in solitude. 

The last voyage. — There is something very sad and 
melancholy in these words — the last. The^ last look ; 
the last word ; the last smile ; even the last shilling, have 
all a peculiarly melancholy import ; — but the last voyage, 
to one who has lived, as it were, on travelling ; who has 
slept for weeks and months under the shadow of the for- 
est trees, and dwelt among the wild, romantic scenes of 
the wilderness, has a peculiar and thrilling interest. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 295 

Each tree I passed on leaving, shook its boughs mourn- 
fully, as if it felt hurt at being thus forsaken. The very 
rocks seemed to frown reproachfully, while I stood up 
and gazed wistfully after each well-known object for the 
last time. Even the wind seemed to sympathize with the 
rest ; for, while it urged the boat swiftly away from my 
late home, like a faithful friend holding steadfastly on its 
favoring course, still it fell occasionally, and rose again 
in gusts and sighs, as if it w'ished to woo me back again 
to solitude. I started on this, the last voyage, shortly 
after the departure of my friend the trapper, leaving 
the palace in charge of an unfortunate gentleman who 
brought a wife and five children with him, which ren- 
dered Seven Islands a little less gloomy than heretofore. 
Five men accompanied me in an open boat ; and on 
the morning of the 25th August we took our departure 
for Tadousac ; and, truly, nature appeared to be aware 
that it was my last voyage ; for she gave us the most un- 
kind and harassing treatment that I ever experienced at 
her hands. 

The first few miles w^ere accomplished pleasantly 
enough. We had a fair breeze, and not too much of it ; 
but towards the afternoon, it shifted, and blew directly 
against us, so that the men were obliged to take to the 
oars — and, as the boat was large, it required them all to 
pull, while I steered. 

The men were all French Canadians ; a merry, care- 
less, but persevering set of fellows, just cut out for the 
work they had to do ; and moreover accustomed to it. 
The boat was a clumsy affliir, wath two spritsails, and a 
jigger or mizzen ; but, notwithstanding, she looked well 
at a distance, and though incapable of progressing very 
fast through the water, she could stand a pretty heavy 



296 HUDSON'S BAY. 

sea. We were badly off, however, with regard to camp 
gear, having neither tent nor oil-cloth to protect us, 
should it rain. Indeed, all we had to guard us from the 
inclemency of the weather at night was one blanket each 
man ; but as the weather had been fine and settled for 
some time back, we hoped to get along pretty well. 

As for provisions, we had pork and flour, besides a 
small quantity of burnt-pease coffee, which I treasured 
up as a great delicacy. 

Our first encampment was a good one. The night, 
though dark, was fine and calm, so that we slept very 
comfortably upon the beach ; every man with his feet 
towards the fire, from which we all radiated like the 
spokes of a wheeh But our next bivouac was not so 
good. The day had been very boisterous and wet, so 
that we lay down to rest in damp clothes, with the pleas- 
ant reflection that we had scarcely advanced ten miles. 
The miseries of our fifth day, however, were so numerous 
and complicated, that it at last became absurd ! It was 
a drizzly, damp morning, to begin with. Soon this gave 
way to a gale of contrary wind, so that we could scarcely 
proceed at the rate of half a mile an hour ; and in the 
evening we were under the necessity either of running 
hack five miles to reach a harbor, or of anchoring off an 
exposed lee-shore. Preferring the latter course, even at 
the risk of losing our boat altogether, we cast anchor, 
and, leaving a man in the boat, waded ashore. Here 
things looked very wretched indeed. Everything was 
wet and clammy. Very little firewood was to be found, 
and when it was found, we had the greatest diflaculty in 
getting it to light. At last, however, the fire blazed up ; 
and though it still rained, we began to feel, comparatively 
speaking, comfortable. 



HUDSON'S BAY. 297 

Now, it must have been about midnight when I awoke, 
wheezing and sniffling with a bad cold, and feeUng un- 
commonly wretched — the fire having gone out, and the 
drizzly rain having increased ; and while I was endeavor- 
ing to cover myself a little better with a wet blanket, the 
man who had been left to watch the boat rushed in among 
us, and said that it had been driven ashore, and would 
infallibly go to pieces if not shoved out to sea immedi- 
ately. Up we all got, and, rushing down to the beach, 
were speedily groping about in the dark, up to our waists 
in water, while the roaring breakers heaved the boat 
violently against our breasts. After at least an hour 
of this work, we got it afloat again, and returned to 
our beds, where we lay shivering in wet clothes till 
morning. 

We had several other nights nearly as bad as this one, 
and once or twice narrowly escaped being smashed to 
pieces among rocks and shoals, while travelling in foggy 
weather. 

Even the last day of the voyage had something un-- 
pleasant in store for us. As we neared the mouth of the 
river Saguenay, the tide began to recede ; and ere long 
the current became so strong that we could not make 
headway against it; we had no alternative, therefore, 
but to try to run ashore, there to remain until the tide 
should rise again. Now it so happened that a sand-bank 
caught our keel just as we turned broadside to the cur- 
rent, and the water, rushing against the boat with the 
force of a mill-race, turned it up on one side, till it stood 
' quivering, as if undecided whether or not to roll over on 
top of us. A simultaneous rush of the men to the ele- 
vated side decided the question, and caused it to fall 
squash down on its keel again, where it lay for the next 



298 HUDSON'S BAY. 

four or five hours, being left quite dry by the tide. As 
this happened within a few miles of our journey's end, I 
left the men to take care of the boat, and walked along 
the beach to Tadousac. 

Here I remained some time, and then travelled through 
the beautiful lakes of Canada, and the United States, to 
New York. But here I must pause. As I said before, 
I write not of civilized, but of savage life ; and, having 
now o'ershot the boundary, it is time to close. 

On the 25th of May, 1847, I bade adieu to the West- 
ern hemisphere, and sailed for England in the good ship 
New Torh 

The air was light and warm, and the sun unclouded, 
as we floated slowly out to sea, and ere long the vessel 
bathed her swelling bows in the broad Atlantic. 

Gradually, as if loath to part, the wood-clad shores of 
America grew faint and dim ; I turned my eyes, for the 
last time, upon the distant shore ; the blue hills quivered 
for a moment on the horizon, as if to bid us all a long 
farewell, and then sank into the liquid bosom of the 
ocean. 



THE END. 



GLOVER 



/ 



